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■ >■ I llll * 



AN AUTHENTIC EXPOSITION 

OT THE 

"K. G. C." 

"KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE;" 

OR, 

A HISTORY OF SECESSION FROM 1834 TO 186L 

ILLUSTRATED. 



t 



BY A MEMBER OF THE ORDER. 



INDIANAPOLIS, IND.: 

0. 0. PERRINE, PUBLISHER. 

1861. 



.A ^302. 






DEDICATION. 



TO THE 

UNCOMPROMISING FEIENDS OP AMERICAN FREEDOM, 

WHETHER LIVING NORTH OR SOUTH; 

TO THOSE 

WHO PREFER DEATH TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE UNION 

AND THE ANNIHILATION OF THE CONSTITUTION, 

THIS WORK 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by 

C. O. PERRINE, 

la ike Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U. 8. for the District of Indians,. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

The Origin of the Order — Southern Rights Clubs — The African Slav© 
Trade and the acquisition of new Slave Territory — The first Organiza- 
tion in 1834, and its success — The Mexican War and the South's 
interest in it — Progress of the Slave Trade up to 1852— Acquisition 
of Cuba, Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Nicaragua Expeditions, 
etc., to increase Membership. 

CHAPTER II. 
Increase of Anti-Slavery Sentiment at the North, and its effect upon 
Southrons — General George C. Bickley's advent in 1855 — The first to 
Systematize the Order of the K. G. C. — Details of the Organization — 
Its Objects, Solemn Oaths, and Forms of Initiation — Its secret influence 
upon the Politics of the Country — Speech in Castle of a Knight — 
General William Walker and Fillibustering. 

CHAPTER III. 

The year 1858 — The Kansas Struggle and the Lecompton Constitution 

Increased growth of the K. G. C. — Change of Ritual— Secession advo- 
cated, and the South united through its workings — The Order popu- 
larized — The Regalia, Symbols, and Workings of the Degrees and 
" Inner Temple " — Application for a Castle in a Northern city refused 
— Firing of the Southern Heart in 1859-'60 — Presidential Contest of 
1860 — Instrumentality of the K. G. C. in dissolving the Democratic 
Convention — Opposition to Douglas — Speech in a New Orleans Castle 
— The Charleston and Baltimore Conventions — The insincerity of 
Southrons. 

CHAPTER IV.' 
The Contest of 1860 — The Breckinridge movement, and the insincerity 
of its opposition to Lincoln — The K. G. C. at the North and the South 
— Misrepresentations by Northern Knights — Some of their Boasting 
Letters — Aid expected from the North in case of Secession — New- 
Emblem of the Order — Plans to steal Arms and Money from the U. S. 
matured in Castle in 1859 — Lincoln and Hamlin Scarecrow at the 
South — Stories of the Campaign, and their almost general belief- 
Treatment of Northerners at the South. 

CHAPTER V. 
The close of Lincoln's Campaign — "Submissionists" — "Firing the 
Southern Heart" for Secession — Great increase of the Knighthood — 
New Degrees instituted— The Sworn Brotherhood pledged to a South- 
ern Government — Death of Abolitionists and other Crimes licensed — 
The election of Lincoln a plea for " Southern Deliverance "—Charles- 
ton Castle — The " Cockade " excitement — Joy over the Election of 
Lincoln— " Co-operationists " confounded by the "Precipitators"— 
Immediate Secession the war-cry of the K. G. C— The Secession of 
South Carolina, and its effect upon the Gulf States— The K. G. C. 
opposed to Compromises — The different Modes of Adjustment pro- 
posed in Congress hooted at. 

(iii) 



C0NTKNT8. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Correspondence between Southern and Northern Knights — Men and 
means proffered — The plan to assassinate Lincoln and seize the Capi- 
tal — Lincoln's Inaugural — The " Coercion" bugbear of the K. G. C. — 
Excitement in the Cotton States — The Military Spirit aroused — 
Floyd's Treason — Statement of the "Stealings" — A revival of the 
Union feeling prior to the fall of Sumter — The " Confederate States'" 
Government — The attack on Sumter a Southern necessity — The Order 
becoming unpopular, and an increased military spirit necessary to 
revive it — The Border States and the Knights thereof — Speech of a 
Kentuckian — The Rattlesnake's Charm — The Love for the American 
Flag. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Bombardment of Fort Sumter — Its effect upon the Border States — 
Agents of the K. G. C. at work — Their cool reception in Southern 
Indiana and Illinois — Gag law and Mob rule — Prentice, Guthrie, 
Johnson, and Brownlow classed as " Hard-Shells " — The manner in 
which proselytes are made — The candidate in the ante-room — The 
u Preliminary Degrees," their Forms, Symbols, and Oaths — The 
■"Outer Temple" — Its initiatory ceremonies — The outside designs of 
the Order — How Conventions, Legislatures, and Elections are con- 
trolled — " Knights' Safety Guards" and "Knights Gallant" — South- 
ern Ladies sent North as Spies — Plans to destroy Property at the 
North — Northern Sympathizers. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The North too confident — The Southern strength underrated — The 
extent of the Brotherhood at the North, and in the Border States — 
Kentucky's Neutrality — The " State Guard " controlled by the K. G. C. 
— The Governor of Kentucky a Knight — The War of 1861 — Justice 
unknown to the Traitor Fraternity — The Sword the only Argument 
that will exact Justice — Vigilance at the North essential — The feeling 
at the South since the War began — Negro insurrections — Brutality 
of the Knights — Their mode of carrying on the War — What they in- 
tend to accomplish. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Yancey and Toombs — The Slave Trade and Filibustering — Northern 
Sympathizers with the latter — The " Abolition " scarecrow — The Le- 
compton Swindle the work of the K. G. C. — Similarity of that fraud 
with Secession operations — The impetus given the Secession move- 
ment by the Republican leaders in 1860 — The Breckinridge party a 
Secession Organization, 

CHAPTER X. 
"What the K. G. C. intend to do with their Government should they 
succeed in their Designs — The renewal of the Slave Trade — The rea- 
sons why nothing is said of Slave Trade now — The establishment of 
an Aristocracy — The War of 1861— Northern depreciation of Southern 
strength. 

CHAPTER XI. 
The military character of the K. G. C— " George Washington Lafay- 
ette Bickley "—What the South can do— What we must do, etc. 



cc 



EXPOSITION 

OF THE 

KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE." 



CHAPTER I. 



The Origin op the Order— Southern Rights' Clubs— the Af- 
rican Slave Trade and the acquisition of new Slave Terri- 
tory—the first Organization in 1834, and its success— the 
Mexican War, and the South' s interest in it— Progress of 
the Slave Trade up to 1852— Acquisition of Cuba, Repeal of 
the Missouri Compromise, Nicaragua Expeditions, etc., used 
to increase membership. 

The Order of which I propose writing an exposition was for 
many years, like the earth in its primordial condition, "without 
form, and void." It did not receive its present name until about 
the year 1855. The principles upon which it is based, however, 
and the actuating motives which pervade its membership, have 
existed nearly thirty years. About the close of the year lbd4, 
there were to he found, in Charleston, New Orleans and some 
other Southern cities, a few politicians who earnestly desired the 
re-establishment of the African slave-trade and the acquisition of 
new slave territory. They believed that the Constitution o the 
United States was a tyrannical document, since it prohibited the 
slave-trade, and regarded it as a system of piracy. The American 
Union, therefore, had its enemies almost from its very childhood. 
These men formed themselves into secret juntos, which, without 
any particular form or ritual, were called S. R. C. s, (Southern 
Rights Clubs.) They had certain signs of recognition, by wbiob 
they made themselves known to each other, and met weekly, semi- 
weekly, or otherwise, as the cause which they labored to promote 
seemed to demand. They might have had, at this early day, some 
sort of constitution and rules of regulation, but of these little is 

now known. ... 

(5) 



6 EXPOSITION OP THE 

The African slave-trade being contrary to the laws of the United 
States, and to the laws of the whole civilized world, it was not 
hoped to carry it on in an open manner. The first efforts of the 
S. 11, C.'s, therefore, were directed to the fitting out, manning, and 
equipping of secret slavers, which were to cruise around the Afri- 
can coast and kidnap negroes whenever a good opportunity was 
afforded. Between the years 1834 and 1840 it is presumed that 
at least six of these vessels were equipped and sent out. Some 
of them were successful, and filled the measure of their appoint- 
ment, while others were captured by English and other fleets, to 
the great mortification of the S. R C.'s, and the discouragement 
of their enterprise. They did not, however, "give up the ship" 
in consequence of these discouragements, but continued their slave 
piracy with renewed vigor, whenever it seemed possible to conceal 
their maneuverings. 

Time rolled on, and every year seemed to add strength and mag- 
nitude to this abominable piratical clique, until the year 1844, 
when the prospect of the war with Mexico seemed to give them 
great hope of the acquisition of new slave territory. Their glori- 
ous dreams of the growth and extension of the slave power seemed 
now in a fair way to be realized. In the mean time they had, in 
their secret juntos, done all in their power to elevate and to con- 
tinue in office, at Washington, such congressional representatives 
as were suited to their peculiar views. These were persistent and 
untiring in their efforts to inflame the United States Government 
against Mexico and Spain, in the hope that a war would be the 
result, and thereby an opportunity afforded for the absorption of 
Southern territory. Wherever it seemed possible to make out a 
case of insult, it was done; and the most trivial circumstances 
were magnified into insufferable abuses. Here is given the reason 
why Southern politicians were so much warmer in their support 
of the Mexican war than those of the North, as a general thing, 
and also the reason why Southern States furnished so many more 
volunteers for the war than did the Northern States. They felt 
that the successful termination of this war was a matter of the 
greatest interest to them, and, consequently, were very forward in 
its promotion. 

I have heard a few persons complaining, since the commence- 
ment of the present war, that the " North allowed the South to 
do the fighting in Mexico." Let the instantaneous reply be, 
"They had more interest in that war than we." I do not wish 
to be understood here as saying that the Mexican war was an 
unjust one, or that the United States Government had no cause 
for it. I merely wish to put it plainly before the people that the 
Southern States had a peculiar interest in it. 

The war with Mexico was brought to a close, and Texas, New 
Mexico, and California were added to the United States domain ; 
but Cuba was still out. The consciousness of this deficiency left 



KNIGHTS OP THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 7 

an aching void in the "Southern heart," and, forthwith, filibus- 
tering expeditions into Cuba were matured and set on foot by the 
members of the S. R C.'s, not in the hope that such expeditions 
would, in themselves, terminate successfully, but with a view to 
so embroiling the United States and Spanish Governments, that 
another acquisitive war would be waged by the former against the 
latter, and Cuba thereby wrested from its former owners. This 
scheme was not altogether successful, although it certainly did 
make advocates to the policy of the acquisition of Cuba through- 
out the United States. 

In the year 1852, the S. R C.'s had become more numerous, 
and their organization was more highly perfected. Some two or 
three slavers were at this time plying successfully between the 
African coast and the Southern Gulf States, but their places of 
landing were, of course, unknown to any but the S. R. C.'s. Par- 
ticular attention was now directed to the ingrafting of the poliey 
of the acquisition of Cuba into the Democratic platform. It was 
confidently hoped to make it a national Democratic doctrine. In 
this they were, to a considerable extent, successful ; and there is 
but little doubt that, had it not been for the agitation of the 
slavery question between the years 1850-54, the acquisition of 
Cuba, either by purchase or conquest, would have become the 
leading political issue of the country. Many Northern Democrats 
were strongly opposed to the policy, but no Southern ones were. 
In the Spring of 1854, it became apparent to the Southern ex- 
tremists that the repeal of the Missouri Compromise had caused 
a great political revolution in the Northern States ; that the old 
Whig party had become extinct, and that its former adherents, 
together with many old Democrats, were building up a new party. 
This was the so-called Know-Nothing party, which, although it 
professed to be purely American, was the legitimate two-fold result 
of the entire defeat of the Whig party and the repeal of the Com- 
promise just alluded to. Shrewd Southern politicians did not 
fail to see the strong Free-soil element which was gradually devel- 
oping in this party. The sweeping victory which the K. N.'s 
achieved in the congressional and state elections of 1854 opened 
the eyes of the Southern Democrats to the fact that the old na- 
tional party of which they had presumed they had almost com- 
plete control, was not so invincible as had been suuoosed. 



EXPOSITION OF THE 



CHAPTER n. 

Increase of Anti-Slavery Sentiment at the North, and its ef- 
fect upon Southrons — General George C. Bicklet's advent 
in 1855 — the first to Systematize the Order of the K. G. C. 
—Details of the Organization — its Objects, Solemn Oaths, 
and Forms of Initiation — its secret influence upon the Pol- 
itics of the Country — Speech in Castle of a Knight — Gen- 
eral William Walker and Filibustering. 

In 1855, it was noticed that the anti-slavery sentiment in the 
North was growing still stronger, and it was, in fact, generally 
thought by Southrons that the Democratic party was becoming 
almost extinct there, from the large numbers that had deserted it 
in consequence of their Free-soil proclivities. It was about this 
time that a certain George C. Bickley, who was a native of Boone 
county, Indiana, but, at the period alluded to, resided in Cincin- 
nati, went South, and, having espoused the cause of the S. R. C.'s, 
took it in hand to reduce them to a more perfect state of organ- 
ization. Having framed a constitution, by-laws, and ritual, and 
having effected thereby all the, to him, necessary changes and 
modifications in the Order, he christened it with the highly 
u chivalrous" name of Knights of the Golden Circle. The sev- 
eral divisions of the K. G. C, according to the new constitution, 
were called Castles. As in the case of most other secret orders, 
there were subordinate castles, and a Grand Castle, State Castle, or 
Legion.* The officers of the subordinate castle consisted of a cap- 
tain, lieutenant, secretary, treasurer, guard, (for the inner door,) 
sentinel, (for the outer door,) a corresponding secretary, and con- 
ductor. The officers of the Grand Castle were the same as those 
of the subordinates, with the addition of the prefix Grand. Their 
new constitution set forth, in its first article, as one of the prin- 
cipal objects of the order, the acquisition of Cuba, Mexico, and 
Nicaragua. In another article, the members are pledged to stand 
united in the promotion of Southern interests, and opposition to 
the encroachments of abolitionism; and still, in another, they 
are pledged, in case of any encroachment on the part of the 
United States Government, to do all within their power to estab- 

* All the State Legions, or Grand State Castles, are represented by delegates in what 
is termed the Grand United States or American Legion. From this body all the laws 
governing state and subordinate castles emanate, as also do the military laws, or, as 
they are generally termed, "Articles of War." These "Articles of War" require 
regular military drill, especially in the use of the bayonet and sword. Knights 
greatly pride themselves on their swordsmanship. 



KNIGHTS OP THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 9 

lish a "free Southern Government." The ritual of this period 
required of the candidate, in the first place, the most solemn oath 
that he would never divulge anything he should see or hear after 
he entered the sacred portals of the castle. Having entered the 
castle, he was sworn to use all his efforts and powers in the fur- 
therance of the objects set forth in the constitution, viz.: the 
absorption of Southern territory, and the promotion of Southern 
interests. Nothing is said in either the constitution or ritual 
directly of the slave piracy, for the reason that it was feared that, 
bv some kind of accident, "the papers" might fall into the hands 
of the "persecuting government." This portion of their business 
had not been forgotten, however, for, during the years 1855-6, 
they equipped and sent out three slavers, two of which were 
highly successful in their operations; one of them, however, was 
captured by an English fleet. 

The year 1856 gave the Knights a new impetus, and added many 
to their numbers, in consequence of the very large growth of the 
anti-slavery sentiment in the North during that year, an especial 
manifestation of which was afforded by the Presidential campaign. 
It was now that the rank pro-slavery tree began to produce the 
buds of secession. Every effort was put forth to test the North 
and the General Government respecting the policy of absorption 
of Southern territory. This policy had been pretty strongly 
hinted at in the Cincinnati Platform, upon which Mr. Buchanan 
was then running; but hints did not satisfy them. They were 
bound to have the plain and explicit declaration from the national 
Democratic party, that "we are in favor of the acquisition of 
Cuba," or dissolve their connection with it, and, if needs be, with 
the government. A few paragraphs from the filed speeches of 
castle C, New Orleans, at this period will give the reader a pretty 
clear idea of the spirit and intent of the Knights. In perusing 
these speeches, passages such as the following occur: 

"The South can only hope for the real enjoyment of its rights 
in a Southern Confederacy, if the signs of the times mean anything. 
Even the Democratic party is becoming Abolitionized. We want 
more territory; we must have it; but can we hope to acquire it 
while the Abolitionists stand in our way, and the indifferent De- 
mocracy refuse to give us aid ? Who can not see that the Demo- 
cratic party is becoming abolitionized ? Why does not the present 
administration (Pierce's) carry out the principles of the Kansas- 
Nebraska Act in Kansas Territory? Why does it allow those 
Emigrant Aid Societies of Massachusetts to send their pauper cut- 
throats to disturb and endanger our people in the common territory 
of the United States?" 

Another specimen: 

" We must have Cuba and Mexico. The North is vastlj out- 



10 EXPOSITION OF THE 

growing us in territory and population. If we can't get territory 
in the Union, we can out of it. I do not feel like awaiting the 
slow steps of the Northern Democracy." 

In the mean time they were becoming pretty sick of the Kan- 
sas-Nebraska bill, as is manifest in the following, which I quote 
from memory : 

" What advantage have we gained by the Nebraska bill ? None 
whatever. On the contrary, we have positively lost. While the 
Missouri Compromise line stood, we had some territory which we 
could call our own, and of which we were sure. But how is it 
since that line is destroyed ? Why, before one Southern man can 
get ready to migrate with his property, (niggers,) they send a 
whole legion of Yankee Abolitionists to Kansas to cut his throat 
and steal his negroes. The whole American Government is really 
becoming a grand Abolition machine, which, even in the hands 
of Democrats, is destined to crush out every vestige of South- 
ern liberty." 

Becoming impatient with the slow movements of the United 
States Government respecting the acquisition of territory, the 
Knights resolved to try another fillibustering expedition. For the 
heading of this expedition they had, in their own ranks, one of the 
most daring and courageous of " chivalrous " adventurers. I allude 
to the no less personage than General Walker. This gentleman 
was duly furnished and equipped with ships, men, and money by 
the liberal members of the K. G. C, and sent out to " take Nicar- 
agua." How he took it, everybody knows. But, as in the in- 
stance of the Cuban fillibuster war, the effort was not expected to 
prove successful, but was merely thrown out as a feeler, to deter- 
mine the condition of Uncle Sam's pulse. After Mr. Buchanan's 
accession to power, Walker's expeditions were renewed with in- 
creased energy ; and it was sincerely hoped that, by some ingenious 
maneuver, he would induce somebody to "insult" the United 
States, so that a good excuse might be afforded for an aggressive 
war. In this expectation, however, they were greatly disappointed ; 
for nobody did insult the United States, nor even General Walker, 
half as much as they were insulted. The only injustice done that 
individual was, that he was not hung before he started on his first 
expedition. Up to the time of which I am now writing, the order 
of the K. G. C. was a rather insignificant one in point of numbers. 
There were, in fact, very few persons, not members of the institu- 
tion, who even knew of its existence. But among their small num- 
ber were many of the wealthiest capitalists of the South, such as 
Yancey and Toombs ; and they were fully confident that the time 
was rapidly coming when they would literally swallow up the whole 
of their section of country. 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 11 



CHAPTER III. 

The year 1858 — The Kansas Struggle and the Lecompton Con- 
stitution — Increased growth of the K. G. C. — Change of 
Ritual — Secession advocated, and the South united through 

ITS WORKINGS — THE ORDER POPULARIZED — THE ReGALIA, SYMBOLS, 

and Workings of the Degrees and "Inner Temple" — Applica- 
tion for a Castle in a Northern city refused — Firing of the 
Southern Heart in 1859-60 — Presidential Contest of 1860 — 
Instrumentality of the K. G. C. in dissolving the Democratic 
Convention — Opposition to Douglas — Speech in a New Orleans 
Castle — the Charleston and Baltimore Conventions — the 
insincerity of southrons. 

The year 1S5S found the Knights of the Golden Circle more 
highly organized, and gaining wonderfully in popularity. The 
division being effected in the Democratic party by the discussion 
of the celebrated Lecompton Constitution, gave them great hope 
of attaining the end to which they had been directing their efforts, 
with undiminished zeal, for the past two years, and which their 
organization had been calculated to effect from its very infancy 
— the dissolution of the American Union. They had applied 
the most thorough tests to the general government, and had done 
all in their power to ascertain whether it were possible to entirely 
Southernize the great' national Democratic party, and transform it 
into a pro-slavery engine with which they might extend and protect 
slavery everywhere, to little effect. They had proven Mr. Buchanan 
to be a very indifferent friend to fillibustering movements ; and, 
last of all, they had found that there were thousands of Democrats 
who would not agree that the people of a territory should have a 
constitution which they were utterly opposed to, nor Admit that 
forty Northern men were equal to but one Southern man. All 
these circumstances proved to them that secession was their only 
hope. The formation of a Southern Government was now talked 
of openly everywhere ; every means was used to make secessionists, 
and unite the Southern people. To this end it was thought the 
order of the K. G. C. should be popularized by various improvements. 
The castle was divided into an outer and inner temple; the outer 
temple being, in fact, the old castle to which, according to some 
changes made in the ritual and constitution, members were admitted 
on probation, preparatory to entering the inner temple. The time 
of probation was not definitely fixed, but was, in all cases, to be 
of sufficient duration to enable the committee of inquiry to determine 



12 EXPOSITION OF THE 

whether the initiate was "sound on the nigger." None but those 
who were known to be out-and-out secessionists could enter the 
"holy of holies." 

About this time it was thought well to do something in the way 
of regalia, emblems, etc., in which no effort was spared to be "very 
ancient." As I never had the good fortune to enter the inner temple, 
I can only describe the outer. In this department the regalia 
consists of a close helmet for the head, from the top of which peers 
upward a small silver spear, and to the frontal portion of which is 
attached a silver crescent ; of a close-fitting garment for the thorax 
and upper extremities, very much resembling the ancient coat of 
mail, and a long, straight sword suspended to the left side. The 
symbols were a large bronzed crescent, or new moon, set with 
fifteen stars, a large one of which was generally suspended over 
the seat of the Chief Knight, from an arch of evergreens; of a large 
temple, under the dome of which shone a beautiful representation 
of the noon-day sun, and around the corona of which were fixed 
fifteen stars. To these were added the skull and cross-bones. 
Now for the language of the symbols : The crescent represents the 
growing Southern Confederacy ; the temple, with its glowing sun 
and fifteen stars, foreshadows the glorious "sunny South," under 
the benign influence of a fully matured Southern Government, 
extending its borders through Cuba, Mexico, and Central and South 
America; the skull and cross-bones signify death to all "Abolition- 
ists" and opposers of "Southern independence." To the by-laws 
were added one strongly prohibiting any member from presenting 
the name of any new applicant unless he had the best of reasons 
for believing that such applicant was a good Southern man, and 
perfectly " sound on the nigger." 

The sole end to which the Knights now directed their efforts 
was the disruption of the American Confederacy. Like Garrison 
and his followers, they considered this an " accursed Union," and 
that its longer continuance was only calculated to degrade and 
oppress the South. In view of this object, they determined to aban- 
don the kidnapping business, inasmuch as it involved consid- 
erable expense, and required close attention, and concentrate all 
their energies upon the institution of new castles throughout all 
the Southern States. Forthwith castles began to spring up all 
through the Border States, and, in not a few instances, was it found 
that prominent Northern men were knocking at the door for ad- 
mission. Whenever they were known to be " good Southern men" 
they were welcomed and hailed with joy. At one time during the 
year of which I now write, (1858), some very prominent citizens 
of New Albany, Indiana, proposed to have a castle instituted in 
their city, but the Knights thought that as their order was "pe- 
culiarly a Southern one," it were better that it should not extend 
into free soil During this period, castles were built up in Texas, 
and they showed themselves worthy of their calling, and, if any- 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 



13 




EXPOSITION OP THE 



U 



« 







KNIGHTS OP THB GOLDEN CIRCLE. 15 

thing, rather distanced those of the Gulf States in the promotion 
of the "good cause." 

With the Texan Knights, however, there was one great obstacle 
in the way of progress, viz. : the large free-laboring German popu- 
lation. The Germans in Texas had demonstrated to the world that 
they could even excel the "nigger" in the cultivation of the cotton 
plant. This was considered as a very dangerous argument against 
the "peculiar institution." 

The great plea in favor of Slavery in the South had ever been 
that "cotton could not be grown without African service," and 
that the whole intelligent world should see a practical demonstra- 
tion of its fallacy was something that the "chivalry" never could 
submit to. 

The Germans had become thoroughly acclimated, and being 
very healthy and prolific, bid fair to seriously undermine, and ul- 
timately destroy, the slave interests of Texas. Fully conscious of 
these facts, the members of the K. G. C. began and carried out 
such a system of abuse and oppression towards this valuable class 
of citizens, as finally resulted in the exodus of the entire German 
population (25,000) from Texas to Mexico, in the early part of the 
spring of the present year, (1861.) 

All through the year 1859, the Knights were working with un- 
abated energy for the increase of their numbers and the "firing 
of the Southern heart." 1860 found them making great prepara- 
tions for the presidential campaign of that year. 

It had been strongly indicated by the Democrats of the great 
Northwest, at their recent state elections, that a less conservative 
man than Douglas would receive very few of their votes for the 
U. S. Presidency in the coming contest; and, from the strong op- 
position to him by Southern fire-eaters and Northern dough-faces 
in the national Congress of that year, it was clear that a division, 
and consequent defeat, of the Democratic ticket could be easily 
effected, and an excuse, by that means, afforded for the consumma- 
tion of their great leading design. 

Perhaps no politician ever had a firmer hold upon the sympa- 
thies of his adherents than Mr. Douglas. Of this fact the Knights 
were fully aware; and, knowing that many of the prominent lead- 
ers of the Northern Democracy were jealous of the " Little Giant," 
it was duly arranged to secure their services both in Congress and 
in the contemplated April convention, to the end of so dividing 
that body that a sufficient number might be drawn off to form 
another convention and nominate another candidate. 

Months before the meeting of the National Democratic Couven- 
tion, men of the Yancey stripe had literally sworn, in castle, to 
split that Convention, and thereby utterly defeat its objects, or 
else entirely Southernize it. The following, from a speech deliv- 
ered in the "New Orleans Castle, will show the spirit and intent of 



16 EXPOSITION OF THE 

the ultraists of that period. The speech was made at a meeting 
held, January 11th, 1860: 

H The next administration shall be purely Southern, or we will 
have no administration at all. We will have a strictly Southern 
Rights Congress. If we can't have such a congress at Washington, 
we will have it somewhere else. Our rights of property should be 
secured, not only here and in the common territories, but all over 
the United States. Why can't we travel where we please with 
our negroes, and stay as long as we like, without molestation? 
The powers at the National Capital, under the influence of the 
abolition puritans, will never, in my opinion, grant the just privi- 
leges claimed by Southern gentlemen. The Democratic party 
North is fast selling itself out to the Abolitionists, and, from pres- 
ent appearances, we may expect that before another campaign 
Steve Douglas and Fred Douglass will be spoken of as the candi- 
dates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency, to be nominated at a 
fusion convention, composed of Black Republicans and Squatter 
Sovereignty Democrats. 

"I am, for one, for an eternal separation from this yellow- 
skinned, woolly-headed clique. I am for an out-and-out Southern 
man in '60. We don't expect Northern men to vote for him. 
We don't want them to. We only want a man that a Southern 
gentleman can vote for with clean hands and a clear conscience. 
I would say, give us Yancey or Jeff Davis. We can vote for such 
men as these conscientiously. We do n't expect to elect them; we 
don't want to elect them according to the modes prescribed by 
the United States Constitution. We only want to show the North 
our hand and our strength. Let them elect their Abolition can- 
didate. Is there one here who does not hope they will? For my 
part, it has been my desire, for over ten years, that the North 
would give us some good excuse for the dissolution of the Union. 
We, as an Order, have been hoping and working for a long time 
for a separation from the North, and the formation of a govern- 
ment of our own, where we could, without any hindrance or 
drawback, carry out a purely Southern policy. At the coming 
Democratic convention we must have this Order well represented; 
we must have men there who will carry out our wishes ; we must 
show the mulatto Democrats (Douglas men) that we will have a 
man of our own selection. He must be a Knight, and a good one 
at that. There is little doubt, from the present bull-headedness 
«f the Douglasites, that this policy will result in the division of 
the convention, and the nomination of two candidates; but that 
is just what we want. It will only assist the election of the 
Abolition candidate, which, as I have before said, is the upper- 
most desire of our hearts, in that it will afford a lawful excuse 
for dissolving a Union which has, for the past thirty years, been 
the most formidable obstacle to Southern progress." 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 1" 



The way in which the Knights proposed to divide the con- 
vention was, to require at the hands of the conservative Northern 
Democracy the most unqualified recognition of the rights ot 
property in slaves, and its especial Congressional protection in 
all the United States Territories. From the popular expressions 
of the Northwestern people at the ballot box, at their recent 
, elections, they knew full well their desire of disruption would be 
successfully attained by this requirement. 

In April 1860, the National Democratic Convention assembled 
at Charleston, and it seemed to be the universal desire of the 
conservative men to harmonize that body by making every per- 
sonal concession consistent with what they had hones Jy believed 
to be a fair interpretation of the Cincinnati Platform. Ihey pro- 
posed to lay aside all the differences of the past, say nothing 
about recent quarrels, and simply adopt the old Cincinnati Plat- 
form with the mere addition that the slavery question in the 
territories should be settled by the Supreme Court presuming, 
as they did. that the Constitution of the United States, as inter- 
preted by the highest of all judicial authorities, was a sufficient 
Urantee to the rights of property everywhere. If here had 
been any desire on the part of the Knights (as nearly all the 
Breckinridge men were,) to forget old differences and reunite the 
party, thef would have readily agreed to this proposition But no 
such desire existed among them. Nothing but a full and explicit 
acknowledgment that "neither Congress nor a Territorial Legis- 
lature" could impair the rights of property m slaves and that it 
was "the duty of the Federal Government, in all its departments, 
to protect the rights of persons and property in the territories 
and wherever else its authority extends;' would begin to satisfy 
them. Whenever a Southern man says ''property he means 
"niggers;" bo that what the Knights really desired of the Douglas 
men was ttiat they should admit that no power ^ earth could, in 
any way interfere with "niggers." This admission they knew 
as well before as after the Convention, would not be made. Every 
man at all acquainted with the history of the past five years, knows 
that Mr. Buchanan was elected upon the principle of non-inter- 
vention ; and to presume that the conservative men of the iNortn- 
Srt could indorse Congressional Intervention to the ridiculous 
Tnd inconsistent extreme' required by the Southern '/nigger wor- 
shipers in the Charleston Convention, was something that none 

nityTe U aaers°-are all aware, the result of the unreasonable 
demands made upon the conservatives was the dmsio n of the Con- 
ventiou or more properly speaking, the secession of the Knights, 
Sf^formXn P f anoiefoonveltion.. Both these convention, 
adjourned befoVe arriving at any definite conclusion respecting 
the selection of a candidate, to meet again at Baltimore, in the 
month of June. On the part of the K. G. Q there was not the 



18 EXPOSITION OF THE 

least intention of trying to conciliate matters at the subsequent 
meeting by the compromise of any of their principles; nor did 
they anticipate any concession on the part of the conservatives. 
They only desired to widen the breach, and all their pretensions 
to the contrary were the merest sham. 

In the interim between the two meetings the Knights were 
busily engaged in castle, devising means whereby they might hold 
the organization at Baltimore, and thereby force the Douglas men 
to secede. By this ruse it was hoped to preserve for their faction 
the name of "The Regular Democratic Convention," and thus 
more thoroughly divide the party: and it was duly arranged that 
if they could not succeed in this plan, they would cause the 
speaker (Mr. Gushing) to " secede," and by that means carry all 
the weight they possibly could with them. 

June arrived, and, at the assembling of the convention, the 
Knights found themselves clearly beaten, as it regarded their first 
plan, by the superior activity of the conservatives. They even 
came very near being denied a seat in the assembly. They were, 
consequently, forced to their last plan as the only alternative. 

Respecting the movements of the two Baltimore conventions, 
the reader is doubtless informed, but it may not be out of the way 
here to present the expressions of these two bodies on the slavery 
question, as found in their respective platforms. Here is what 
the Douglas convention said : 

"That inasmuch as differences of opinion exist in the Demo- 
cratic party as to the nature and extent of a territorial legislature, 
and as to the powers and duties of Congress, under the Consti- 
tution of the United States, over the institution of slavery within 
the territories, Resolved, That the Democratic party vill abide by 
the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States over the 
institution of slavery in the territories. 

"Resolved, That it is in accordance with the interpretation of 
the. Cincinnati Platform that, during the existence cf the territo- 
rial government, the measure of restriction, whatever it may be, 
imposed by the Federal Constitution on the power of the terri- 
torial legislature over the subject of the domestic relations (as 
the. same has been or shall hereafter be finally determined by the 
Supreme Court of the United States) should be respected by all 
good citizens, and enforced with promptness and fidelity by every 
branch of the General Government." 

And here is the Breckinridge platform on slavery : 

" The government of a territory, as organized by an act of Con- 
gress, is provisional and temporary, and, during its existence, all 
citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with 
their property ( u niggers") in the territory, without their righto 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 19 

either of person or property being destroyed or injured by con- 
gressional or territorial legislation. 

"It is the duty of the Federal Government, in all its depart- 
ments, to protect the rights of persons or property ( u niggers") 
in the territories, and wherever else its constitutional authority 
extends. 

" When the settlers in a territory, having an adequate popula- 
tion, form a state constitution, the right of sovereignty commences, 
and being consummated by their admission into the Union, they 
stand on an equality with the people of other states ; and a state 
thus organized ought to be admitted into the Federal Union, 
whether the constitution prohibits or recognizes the institution of 
slavery." 

With the exception of the last resolution appended to the 
Douglas platform, these platforms were both framed in Charles- 
ton ; and I will remark just here that, as it respects the Breck- 
inridge platform, it had been drawn up in the Calhoun castle, at 
Charleston, more than a month before the first meetipg of the 
convention. 

In contrasting the above quotations, it requires no very great 
degree of perspicuity to determine which is the more conciliatory 
of the two; nor does it require a very high development of the 
perceptives to see that the boasted "national" doctrine of non- 
intervention, of which we all heard so much in 1856, had been 
entirely abandoned by the secessionists as a political humbug, 
and that they had fallen back on the old idea, always maintained 
by the Republicans, that Congress had a right to interfere with 
the institution of slavery in the territories, and that it was its 
duty to do it. The only difference between the Republicans and 
Breckinridge men, on this point, being that the former believed 
Congress should prohibit the introduction of slavery into the ter- 
ritories, while the latter taught that Congress should protect it 
to the full extent of its powers. Does it not seem remarkably 
strange that, with these facts before the intelligent world, the 
Knights should denominate the Republican party a sectional one, 
and base their excuse for secession upon its recent success in 
consequence? In this connection I will quote from the Repub- 
lican platform, framed at Chicago, May, 1860. The following is 
the eighth resolution of that document: 

" That the normal condition of all the territory of the United 
States is that of freedom; that as our republican fathers, when 
they abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that 
no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without 
the process of law, it becomes our duty by legislation, whenever 
such legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the 
Constitution against all attempts to violate it; and we defy the 



20 EXPOSITION OF THE 

authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any indi- 
viduals, to give legal existence to slavery in any territory of the 
United States." 

This resolution may be said to embody the fundamental doc- 
trines of the Republicans respecting the relations subsisting be- 
tween the General Government and the United States territories, 
and it will be observed that they are, in spirit, the same as those 
of the Breckinridge Democrats, but very differently applied and 
directed. 

Now, respecting the Republican idea of the power of Congress 
to prohibit slavery in the territories, it had the decided advantage 
of legislative precedent from the earliest periods of our national 
history to within a few years past, and, therefore, if we are to decide 
in favor of intervention at all, we must go with the Republicans. 

The principle of non-intervention was certainly Democratic ; the 
greatest objection to it, perhaps, was that it was too Democratic to 
be applied to this age and this Government. 

One of the principal causes of the destruction of the Grecian 
Republic was, that its Democracy was in advance of the intelligence 
of its people ; and it may be that, of late years, some of our American 
statesmen have, in their ambitious desire to attract the attention of 
the world and leave their mark upon the times, which, under ordinary 
circumstances, is commendable, endeavored to lead this nation 
beyond the capacity of its sovereigns. 






KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 21 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Contest of 1860 — the Breckinridge movement, and the 

insincerity of its opposition to lincoln the k. g. c. at the 

North and the South — Misrepresentations by Northern 
Knights — Some of their Boasting Letters — Aid expected from 
the North in case of Secession — New Emblem of the Order 
— Plans to steal Arms and Money from the U. S. matured in 
Castle in 1859 — Lincoln and Hamlin scarecrow at the South 
— Stories of the Campaign, and their almost general belief 
— Treatment of Northerners at the South. 

The two Baltimore Conventions having finished their work, 
adjourned, and went forth organizing state tickets, and presenting 
the claims of their respective candidates to the people of the country. 
Now, be it remembered, there were many warm supporters of Mr. 
Buchanan's administration, andpolitical enemies of Senator Douglas, 
who, seeing the disorganized condition of the Democratic party, 
and the certain prospect of defeat in consequence, were willing to 
make almost any personal sacrifice in order to bring about a better 
state of affairs. These proposed to allow Breckinridge to take the 
South and Douglas the North, in the hope that thereby the election 
of Lincoln would be prevented, and the choice thrown into Congress. 
These men were honest in their intentions, whatever we may say 
of their political views. They labored earnestly to prevent the 
organization of a Breckinridge ticket in any Northern State ; but 
they were not members of the K. G. C, and, consequently, unac- 
quainted with the real intent and meaning of the Breckinridge 
movement. Their reasoning, their efforts, their appeals, were not 
heeded, and almost before we were aware of it, there was a Secession 
ticket (that is the proper name) in nearly every state north of the 

Ohio River, with such men as the Hon. J. D. B and D. S. D 

to stump for it, and such papers as the Xeic York Day Book to talk 
for it. There were many men in the North who were not bona-fide 
members of the K. G. C, who still advocated the claim of the 
Secession ticket almost purely out of the hatred and envy they 
bore Mr. Douglas; others again were duped and lured into it. A 

certain Mr. B , of Indiana, a Mr. V , of Ohio, the editor 

of the Day Book, and a Mr. C , of Massachusetts, were said to 

be about the only reliable members the Order claimed among the 
prominent Northern politicians. Of course there were several of the 
" small fry " in many places. It was frequently wondered why any 
set of men could be so foolish as to advocate the Breckinridge ticket 
in the North, and often the questions were asked, " Why do you 



22 EXPOSITION OP THE 

do it?"— "What will you make by it?" The reply generally was, 
" We hope to make nothing; we act from principle." With some, 
these answers were, doubtless, honest, inasmuch as they were igno- 
rant of the operations and intentions of the Knights in the South, who 
were, as I have just shown, at the bottom of the whole movement. 

As has already been seen, the members of the K. G. C. hoped, by 
the organization of the Secession ticket in the North, to more 
effectually divide the Democratic party. But there was with them 
another and far greater object to be attained by it, viz. : the 
ascertainment of the precise number of Northern men with decided 
Southern principles. This was a desideratum of no little importance, 
since it Was honestly believed and fully expected that, in the pending 
revolution of 1^61, every man in the North who had voted for 
Breckinridge might be set down on the lists as a soldier for the 
Southern army. All over the North agents were employed to attend 
the elections, ascertain the exact number of Breckinridge voters, 
and forward the same to any regularly organized castle in the 
South. This latter movement was somewhat interrupted in New 
York and some other Eastern states by the Union coalition entered 
into by all the parties opposed to the election of Mr. Lincoln. But, 
notwithstanding this, a pretty accurate calculation was made of 
the probable sympathetic aid that might be expected from every 
state north of Mason and Dixon's line. About two months before 
the presidential election, there was an extensive correspondence 
going on between Northern and Southern Knights, in which the 
former were representing the secession strength ©f their section 
as being very great. In this connection I have thought fit to present, 
in substance, a few letters which I have had the opportunity of 
seeing. If I had been safe in so doing, I would have copied 
them verbatim. 

Here is one written from Madison, Indiana : 

Madison, Sept. — , I860. 
Corresponding Sec. Jefferson Castle, No. 23, K. G. C. 

Dear Sir : — You may tell the friends of Southern Rights that our district 
can turn out at least one thousand men who will fight Northern aggression 
to the death. Be of good cheer, and work faithfully. 

Yours for the right, T. 

The following is the substance of an epistle written from 
Evansville, Indiana: 

Evansville, Sept. — , 1860. 
Corresponding Sec Jefferson Castle, K. G. C. 

Dear Sir : — Tell the friends that our county, alone, will be found good 
for one regiment of brave men, who will shed their last drop of blood 
before they will submit to Abolition rule. Put us down as A, number 
one. Very respectfully yours, etc., S. 

Washington, Indiana, is heard from in the following manner: 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 23 



Washington, Ind., Sept. — , 1860. 

CORRESPONDIKG SEC. JeFF. CaSTLE, K. G. C. 

Dear Sir : — Having been generally over the Hoosier State, I think I 
can tell pretty accurately how she stands. There are thirty thousand 
voters in this State who will never compromise with Black Republican- 
ism, and I think I may safely say that there are at least ten thousand 
who will shoulder their muskets in defense of the rights of their Southern 
brethren. Your ob't servant, M. 

The letter below is from the little town of Carlisle, Indiana: 

Carlisle, Sept. — , 1860. 
Corresponding Sec. Jefferson Castle, K. G. C. 

Dear Sir: — I have taken the pains to count noses in this district, 
especially in this county, and I can set you down, at the least calcula- 
tion, two thousand fighting men, who will, at a moment's warning, in 
case of need, march to the standard of Southern Rights, and it is highly 
probable that the whole of Indiana south of the National Road will 
secede and unite its fortune with the South when Lincoln is elected. 

Ever yours, etc., "W. 

The foregoing letters I saw and read among the filed papers 
of Jefferson Castle, Kentucky, and these were from Indiana alone. 
From what I could gather from prominent members of the Order, 
I think I may safely estimate the promised sympathetic aid of the 
several Northwestern States as follows: Indiana, at least 10,000; 
Ohio, about 5,000; Illinois, 5,000; Pennsylvania, at least 15,000; 
New York, about 50,000; Iowa, 5,000; Michigan, 5,000. Total, 
95,000. Beside the assistance expected from the above mentioned 
States, they looked for a good deal from others, both in the way 
of men and money. At no time previous to the bombardment of 
Fort Sumter was it presumed that the number of men to be 
counted on from the North would fall below 100,000, and with 
these, and the assistance of Northern capitalists, Northern engi- 
neers, manufacturers, etc., together with the heavy drafts to be 
made on the U. S. Treasury and the U. S. Arsenals, it was confi- 
dently apprehended as nothing more than a breakfast spell to 
"clean out the Abolitionists'' capture the Capital at Washington, 
and kick Uncle Sam into nonenity. 

About this time a new emblem was added to the Order. It was 
a simple triangular white card, somewhat resembling the Knights' 
spear, in the three corners of which were written the figures 7, 3, 
and 5. In the center of this card was printed the capital letter 
II, and immediately below this was written the number 61. Let 
the reader presume this card to be placed before him with the 
long, acute angle upward, as the upper part of a spear in situ ; 
let him imagine the figure 7 in the left hand corner, the figure 3 in 
tfce upper corner, and the figure 5 in the right hand corner. Now 
he should place the capital letter R in the center of the card, and 



24 EXPOSITION OF THE 

61 immediately under it, and read as follows, beginning with the 
capital R, and running round the several angles of the card, from 
left to right: R. — Revolution. Y-3-5=15, of fifteen states in '61, 
(1861,) or Revolution of fifteen states in sixty-one. These cards 
were thrown about the streets and corners of many of the Northern 
border cities nearly two months before the election of Mr. Lincoln. 
I have already intimated that secret arrangements had been made 
to secure a considerable portion of Uncle Sam's money at this 
period. This is true. Floyd and Cobb had taken all the neces- 
sary preliminary steps for the accomplishment of this object nearly 
two years previous to the time of which 1 am now writing. Plans 
for securing the arms of U. S. Arsenals, and possessing all the 
Southern fortresses, had been thoroughly matured about one year 
previous, historical evidence of which is presented in succeeding 
pages of this work. In addition to the foregoing, by far the 
larger portion of the regular army had been distributed among 
various outposts in Texas and Utah, where it was quite out of 
reach. The Navy had been, with the exception of an insignificant 
home squadron, sent to the most distant foreign points by that 
poor, pitiful, nigger truckling yankee, Isaac Toucey, in order that 
it might not be readily recalled. Further, it was arranged to send 
nearly every navy officer of known loyalty abroad, while a large 
majority of those to be selected for the home squadron were 
Knights of the genuine stamp. To Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri, where it was 
known that the K. G. C. were vastly in the minority, no arms 
were to be distributed, or at least as few as possible, whereas in 
the Cotton States, where the Order was pretty strong, and where its 
members generally managed, by hook or crook, to be at the head 
of all public affairs, large numbers were sent. In order to more 
thoroughly prepare the people of the Gulf States for the antici- 
pated revolution, it was resolved upon to use every means to make 
them believe that if Mr. Lincoln was elected, the almost immediate 
abolition of slavery in all the Slave States would follow; and that 
he (Lincoln) was, in point of civilization, but a few removes from 
a Fejee Islander. The newspapers under the control of the Knights 
were constantly employed in giving the most distorted and unjust 
delineations of the characters of the Republican nominees. North- 
ern editors who wrote disparagingly or abusively of Lincoln and 
the Republican party were largely quoted from, and in small 
country sheets which rarely ever reached a Northern or border 
town, such quotations were miserably garbled, and presented to 
the people vastly more unjust than they were originally. In 
many of the Gulf States the common people were fully of the 
opinion that Mr. Hamlin was a mulatto, from the newspaper de- 
scriptions they had read of him. Mr. Lincoln was generally be- 
lieved to be a totally illiterate numskull, as barbarous toward 
the Southern slaveholders as a Hottentot, and as dear a lover of 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 25 

"niggers" as a German is of lager beer. It was even currently 
reported, at one time, that his wife was a quadroon. 

Meantime, such a course was to be pursued toward Northern 
men caught in the South, of the slightest Republican tendency, 
as would stir up the indignation of the Northern people. Men 
were to be tarred and feathered, ridden on rails, ducked in muddy 
water, and even hung, or shot, where any sufficient excuse could 
be had. In short, every species of taunt and insult were to be 
used in order to arouse and irritate the North, so that Mr. Lin- 
coln's election might be all the more certain. The effects of ruffian- 
ism in Kansas had proven to them that the more they abused the 
North, the more intense would be its opposition to that institution 
which really does seem to engender, either directly or indirectly, 
more grossness and brutality than almost any other known to the 
civilized world. Just here I might relate a few incidents which 
occurred a short time before the Presidential election, which fully 
illustrate the truth of what I have just been stating. In Nashville, 
Tenn., about the middle of September, 1860, there were found, 
wrapped around some books, a few copies of the N. Y. Tribune, 
in the trunk of a gentleman from Boston, who had been teaching 
music in Nashville nearly two years. The mere finding of these 
papers in his possession was construed by Knights into " distribut- 
ing incendiary documents." His conviction having been fully 
established by this mere fact, he was conveyed to a duck puddle 
and thoroughly soaked in its muddy contents; he was then gently 
tarred and feathered, ridden on a rail all around town, followed by 
a gang of the "chivalry," and finally driven out of town by the 
locomotive "property" which it was thought his two year old 
Tribunes were likely to injure. Another instance. An "Egypt- 
ian," from Illinois, who had been on a visit to some of his friends 
in Tennessee, in September, 1860, and who had been born and 
raised in that state, was going home per railroad through Ken- 
tucky. The train was pretty well filled with Knights on their way 
to Louisville, to assist in organizing a new castle in that place. 
Perceiving, from his appearance, that he was a Northerner, they 
proceeded to cross-examine the "Egyptian" respecting his politics. 
Seeing, from the complexion of things that the surrounding atmos- 
phere was highly "chivalrous," and not being as successful a 
hypocrite as the "Subscriber," he endeavored to pursue the non- 
committal course. But that would not do; they only persisted 
the more urgently with their quizzings. Finally, he told them, 
very frankly, that if he must come out, he expected to vote for 
"Old Abe," if he lived till the coming election. This acknowledg- 
ment was the signal for hisses, groanings, jeerings, etc., and 
finally one of the crowd attempted to pull his nose, when he pulled 
off his coat, drew himself up a la Heenan, and swore most lustily 
that if they undertook anything of that kind, he would " thrash tho 
whole d— d car load." Fortunately, the conductor, and one or two 



26 EXPOSITION OP THB 

other genuine Kentucky gentlemen, induced the K. G. C.'s to de- 
sist their more than heathenish conduct. But still they could not 
give the job up entirely; and when the train stopped at the next 
station, they induced the women and children from the adjoining 
cars to come in and look at what they called the "Lincoln 
animal." I did not learn whether they charged an admission fee 
at the door, but understood that many of the "young 'uns" con- 
sidered it a very rare exhibition. 

And still another case: Judge , of Greencastle, Ind., was 

visiting some relatives in the western part of Kentucky, in the 
latter part of September, 1860, and being on a train one day 
which contained a goodly number of the "chivalry," was ques- 
tioned by them very closely as to his politics. He told them he 
was a Lincoln man, when several of them began to curse him, and 
threaten to put him off the train. The Judge, however, showed 
them his mettle, gave them to understand that he, too, was a Ken- 
tuckian by nativity, and that before they insulted him they had 
to do some hard fighting. They concluded to let him alone. 

Many instances more of a similar and even worse character 
could be adduced to the point, but these are sufficient to give the 
reader some idea of the Knights' tactics towards Northern men in 
the fall of 1860. During the whole of Lincoln's campaign, the 
newspapers were full of accounts of almost insufferable abuses 
received by Northern men, every one of which was justly attribu- 
table to the Knights. It is but justice to the South, however, to 
state that there were, at this time, many Southern gentlemen, even 
of the strong pro-slavery stamp, who utterly discountenanced these 
outrages. 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 27 



CHAPTER V. 

The close of Lincoln's Campaign — "Submissionists" — " Firing 
the Southern Heart " for Secession — Great Increase of the 
Knighthood — New Degrees instituted — the Sworn Brother- 
hood PLEDGED TO A SOUTHERN GOVERNMENT DEATH OF ABOLI- 
tionists and other crimes licensed — the election of lincoln 
a plea for "Southern Deliverance" — Charleston Castle — 
the "Cockade" excitement — Joy over the Election of Lin- 
coln " CO-OPERATIONISTS " CONFOUNDED BY THE "PRECIPITATORS" 

— Immediate Secession the war-cry of the K. G. C. — the Se- 
cession of South Carolina, and its Effect upon the Gulf 
States — the K. G. C. opposed to Compromises — the Different 
Modes of Adjustment proposed in Congress hooted at. 

Toward the close of Mr. Lincoln's campaign it became apparent 
that his election was pretty certain. Nearly all the great Middle 
and Northwestern States had elected the Republican state ticket, 
and it now seemed that the grand object for which the Knights 
had labored so earnestly was about to be attained. In view of 
this contingency, they adopted a regular system of brow-beating, 
almost unequaled in the history of the world. They coined the 
appellation " Submissionist," and applied it, with great bitterness, 
to every man who indicated that he would await the committal 
of some overt act before he was willing his state should go out of 
the Union. Every editor and orator under their control, or within 
their hellish precincts, indulged in the most abusive epithets to- 
ward loyal citizens. Every appeal was made to Southern pride 
and Southern honor. Full well they knew the effects of this sys- 
tem of "coercing" the Southern people into the inextricable vor- 
tex of secession. Almost any really high-toned gentleman of the 
South prefers death to the name " coward" which term was con- 
sidered by the "chivalry" as synonymous with "Submissionist." 
This devilish, domineering, and yet cowardly style of " tiring the 
Southern heart," did more to induce men to enlist in the cause of 
secession than any other that could have been adopted. 

Further, it was now considered a good time to extend the Order 
of the K. G. C. Ever}' man among them, therefore, who had 
education enough to read the ritual, was delegated to go forth 
and organize castles wherever he could find the material with 
which to construct one. In drumming for the Order, the agents 
took care to say nothing about the original objects for which it 
was framed, viz. : the re-establishment of the African slave-trade 
and the acquisition of slave territory. It was always represented 



28 EXPOSITION OF THE 

to outsiders as a strictly " anti-submission " Order, only designed 
to aid in the securing of u Southern rights ; " and of course almost 
every Southern man is for Southern rights. Castles were organ- 
ized wherever a sufficient number could be got together for the 
purpose, irrespective of regalia, emblems, or any of the regular 
paraphernalia of the Order. Court-rooms, store-rooms, and even 
smoke houses and stables were used. New degrees were insti- 
tuted, which were called "preliminary" degrees. In these the 
candidate saw but little of the "inner beauties" of the castle. 
In the first, he was only sworn to resist the encroachments of 
"abolitionism" with all his powers; in the second, he was sworn 
to stand by the South, and especially his own state, and follow 
her destinies, wherever they tended ; in the third, which was the 
last of the "preliminary" degrees, he was obligated to favor a 
Southern Confederacy, and to pledge himself, and all that he had, 
in its support, when it should be formed. The candidate was now 
prepared to enter the Outer Temple of the castle, where he was 
received according to the new ritual, (one framed and adopted in 
October, I860,) which required the most solemn pledges that the 
initiate would never retrace a single one of his recent steps, and 
that he would, to the utmost of his powers, aid in promoting the 
formation of a Southern government. Further, this ritual de- 
mands that a man shall consider no act toward the enemies of 
"Southern rights" as too gross or unjust for him to commit. In 
other words, he is required to swear that he will do anything to 
punish "Abolitionists" and bring them to terms, the injury of 
their women and children excepted. This last feature, viz. : the 
exception, is really the only redeeming one of the whole affair. 
This ritual also gives the initiate license to kill any man whom 
he has reason to believe is a real Abolitionist, in any way he 
sees proper, and the Order is pledged to protect him to the end. 

Time moved, and at last the joyful news of Mr. Lincoln's elec- 
tion was trumpeted throughout the South.. I say joyful, because, 
to the Knights, it was the gladdest intelligence that could have 
been borne them. All the principal castles now put on their 
holiday garments, and men were heard in the streets to thank 
God that the hour for " Southern deliverance had come." (They 
should have thanked the devil, because he is their master.) Cal- 
houn Castle, located at Charleston, considered itself as second to 
no place but Heaven, and hardly to that; and well might she 
have felt proud, because she was the mother of Southern harlots, 
and to her continuous and industrious workings, for many long 
years, were to be attributed the mighty growth of the secession 
snake, which, when she first found it, was indeed a very young 
one. No sooner had the news of the election of Lincoln been 
received, than every Knight in Charleston mounted a cockade on 
his hat, and ran through the streets, shouting, " Glory ! we are 
free J we are independent ! The d — d old Union is gone to hell ! " 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 29 

Public meetings were called, and the greatest demonstrations 
were made. Everything was to be done in hot haste. All the 
speeches that were delivered at this period by the Knights par- 
took of the hot, precipitous character of the conspirators. Not- 
withstanding their efforts to increase their numbers previous to 
the election, they were still in the minority, even in the Gulf 
States, and it was considered as fatal in the extreme to allow the 
commou people of the country the least opportunity for thought 
or reflection. Many of these latter seemed to think that the 
matter of secession should be left with the border Slave States, 
it being clear to them that, inasmuch as these states were more 
interested than theirs, they should be allowed a controlling voice. 
Persons of this order of thinking termed themselves " Co-opera- 
tionists," and favored the calling of a convention of all the Slave 
States. Hon. A. H. Stephens, of Georgia, was their leader; and 
had it not been for his great popularity, the co-operative theory 
would have dwindled much sooner than it did. It is, however, 
wonderful how the " Co-operationists," with a clear majority in 
every state but South Carolina, should have suffered themselves to 
be driven into the whirlpool of secession by the brow-beating force 
of the appellations "Submissionist," "Abolitionist." 

It had never been the policy of the Knights to allow anything 
to be settled by the majority in a fair way. The cause which they 
advocated was not one which would admit of reflective delibera- 
tion, and hence, to allow the people time to reason in the premises, 
and determine the ultimate effects of secession upon the Slave 
States, or to ascertain the administrative policy of the newly 
elected President, would have proved fatal to their designs. It 
was a fact which none could deny, that the Democracy had a clear 
majority in both houses of Congress — a majority which could have 
held the administration in check, however much it might have been 
disposed to diverge from the path of constitutional rectitude — a 
majority which might have literally tied the President hand and 
foot, and have rendered him as incapable of encroaching upon 
"Southern rights" as an oyster is of making an aerial voyage 
across the Atlantic, or a Knight of getting to heaven — a majority 
even of Breckinridge Democrats, who would rather have their 
right arms torn from their sockets than deny that the extension 
of Slavery and the protection of the "nigger" is the genius of our 
Constitution and the sole end of Christianity — men whose motto 
was " nigger first! country second!" I say, all this was well 
known to the intelligent men of the nation, and yet the Southern 
people were constantly told that nothing but secession could save 
them from a subjugation too horrible even to contemplate. All 
the newspapers under the control of the K. G. C, were constantly 
teeming with editorials and contributions deeply deploring the 
humiliating fact that there were "yet a few" men in the South, 
"so unpatriotic to their states, and so untrue to themselves," as to 



30 EXPOSITION OF THB 

oppose a declaration of " Southern independence." Secession 
orators, upon the stump, branded every man of the slightest Union 
tendency as a "cowardly truckler" and a "traitor to the South." 
Everything must be done immediately ; it was worse than folly to 
await an overt act; Lincoln's election was, of itself, an overt act — 
no time was to be lost. 

A weak cause always demands precipitancy. Of this the 
Knights were fully aware, and, therefore, took the advantage of 
the chagrined condition of the Southern people to " rush matters." 
Complete arrangements for the whole secession movement had been 
made long before the Presidential election, and, therefore, nothing 
remained but to carry it forward. No respect was to be shown 
the Government or the U. S. laws after Lincoln's ascension to the 
executive chair. Ample provisions were made for stealing on a 
large scale ; United States senators and congressmen were to 
proceed to Washington and receive their regular pay for black- 
guarding the North, defaming the Government, and talking treason, 
and then, so soon as their states had seceded, whip off home like 
a thieving hound leaves a meat-house, with a ham in his mouth 
and his tail between his legs. All the plans for robbing the na- 
tional treasury, securing U. S. arms, etc., were also being put into 
execution, and the people know the result. They don't, however, 
know all of them — that secession, with all its hellish concomitants 
was the legitimate result of the workings of a long and well or- 
ganized band of robbers, more damnable than any who ever stood 
on the footstool, and pirates blacker than any who have preceded 
them to hell. Nor do they all know that some of the leading 
spirits of this clique had been at the very head of the American 
government for four years and more. There are, even yet, people 
who do not like to acknowledge that such men as Cobb and Floyd 
had been plotting the destruction of the American government, 
and the robbing of it3 treasury for nearly the whole time they 
were in its employ. 

Finally, by the incessant hurrying and driving of the Knights, 
South Carolina was precipitated out of the Union, and her " in- 
dependence" declared. This they considered " knocking the key- 
stone out," which would be followed by the tumbling of the whole 
arch, as indicated by the motto inscribed upon some of the Charles- 
ton banners: " South Carolina leads, others will follow" _ No 
advantage was to be lost, and the old adage: "Give thedevil an 
inch and he will take a foot," proved itself true in this instance. 
No sooner had the news of South Carolina's secession reached the 
principal cities in the Gulf States, than exciting bulletins were 
thrown broadcast, cannons fired, public mass meetings called, ex- 
citing speeches made, resolutions drawn up, read, and " adopted" by^ 
the crowd, and every other means of "firing the Southern heart ' 
applied with great force. At all these meetings and demon- 
strations, special arrangements had been previously made by the 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 31 

K. G. C. for the adoption of the resolutions they intended pre- 
senting. Thus, it was generally arranged that a certain number 
of the "chivalry" should, after taking a sufficient quantity of the 
inspiring beverage, go into the assembly where the meeting was 
to be held, "hurra for South Carolina" and "the South," and curse 
Lincoln, the Union, and every man that would submit to "Aboli- 
tion rule." Of course, respectable gentlemen knew not how to 
successfully withstand this kind of brutal persuasion. I do not 
know whether this could be called " coercion " or not; but I can 
certainly see very little difference between whisky and mob sua- 
sion, and what some people call coercion. Perhaps the question 
might be settled by Webster, were it not that, in these latter days, 
that inferior lexicographer had been superseded by such learned 
dignitaries as Vallandigham and Gen. Joe Lane. Now, about this 
time, it was ascertained that the people in the North were getting 
exceedingly anxious about the Union. The telegraph was re- 
peatedly announcing the calling and holding of " big mass meet- 
ings," the passage of " conciliatory resolutions," etc. These were 
laughed to scorn, derided, scoffed. One artistic Knight, who was 
a native of Boston, Mass., even went so far as to produce a couple 
of pictures expressive of the extreme plasticity of the Philadel- 
phians. The first of these pictures presented a view of the citizens 
of the City of Brotherly Love, immediately after the election of 
Lincoln, paying homage to "Old Abe," and a big "nigger" who 
stood by his side as Mr. Hamlin. The second presented the same 
citizens after the secession of South Carolina, driving the " nigger," 
with clubs and hounds, back to that state, and kicking " Honest 
Old Abe" off a rickety old bench, which bore the inscription 
"Chicago Platform" unto another called " Compromise." These 
pictures were reproduced in great numbers, and sent, per mail, to 
every castle in the country. They were also sent to certain private 
individuals in some of the Northern Border State towns. I was 
informed that no less than fifty were mailed to northern Knights. 
The offers of compromise, and the repeal of Personal Liberty Bills 
by the North were considered not only humiliating to those who 
offered them, but insulting to those to whom they were offered. 
By some they were presumed to be hypocritical artifices, intended 
to hold the South in the Union while she should be lashed by 
slavery restriction. The truth is, the K. G. C. would accept no 
compromise, and none could have been framed to suit them. Se- 
cession they had been working zealously to achieve for several 
years, and secession they were bound to have. They had ex- 
pended time and money ; they had sacrificed the last vestige of 
honor, and gone, heart and soul, into the most diabolical plots and 
conspiracies for secession, and no compromise short of the adop- 
tion, by the North, of the proposed Confederate constitution, would 
have satisfied them. 
In the mean time, there was immense excitement in Congress, as 



32 EXPOSITION OF THE 

everybody knows. All sorts of modes of adjustment were being 
proposed there; almost every man seemed to have his own way of 
''saving the Union." Knights heeded none, cared for none. But 
among all others, the vigorous plan proposed by such men as 
Wade, of Ohio, and Andy Johnson, of Tennessee, produced the 
most decided effect The only practical mode of affecting Seces- 
sionists is to make them either angry or afraid. The speeches of 
Johnson did both — angry, because he was decidedly hostile to 
their plans, whereas being a Southron, they thought he should be 
their friend — afraid, because, in consequence of his great popu- 
larity in Tennessee, they had good reason to believe he might 
prove a serious drawback to them in that state. If every Senator 
and Congressman who had taken the solemn oath to obey and 
defend the United States Constitution had been as faithful to his 
pledge as Johnson was, the Confederates would never have gained 
the time on the government they did. But with a weak-spined, 
indecisive, disconcerted, treacherous Congress, a majority of 
genuine Knights in the Cabinet, and a literal mud max in the 
Presidential chair, they had ample time and facilities to drag six 
more states out of the Union, occupy forts, steal arms, fortify 
themselves, and laugh defiance in the very face of the government. 
Among all the compromises proposed, that known as the Critten- 
den Compromise seemed to attract most attention. It will be 
remembered that Jeff Davis proposed that if the Republicans 
would present this compromise "in good faith," the South would 
be satisfied. Never did a greater lie escape from under the forge- 
hammer of the father of lies than was this. In the first place, he 
(Davis) is one of the oldest Knights in the South, and had been 
the chief devil in all the black work described in the preceding 
pages, especially that of the three last years, to wit: 18o8-'59-'60, 
and had sworn in castle to take the South out of the Union, if it 
were in his power to do so. In the second place, he had written 
all the principal castles to work steadily and earnestly; that the 
Knights in Congress and in the Cabinet were acting their parts 
nobly, (the parts they had to perform were blackguarding and 
stealing,) and that everything betokened the speedy achievement 
of Southern independence. In the third and last place, he knew 
that such a thing as the offering of the Crittenden Compromise 
"in good faith," by the Republicans, was an utter impossibility. 
Then, asks the reader, what was Davis's object in making the pro- 
position? It was, that the eyes of the country might be blinded 
to the real character and objects of the Secessionists, and thereby 
an opportunity afforded for the more successful carrying out of 
their nefarious plans, in the first place; and, in the second place, 
that the people of the North might be led to believe that the 
Southern States would be satisfied with what was, by many, thought 
to be a fair compromise. The latter consideration was one of no 
small value, since it was presumed that the offers of " fair adjust- 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 33 

ment" by the South would go very far to strengthen and increase 
their friends, and disarm their foes in the North. During the 
early compromise discussions in Congress, many of the hotter 
Secessionists in the Gulf States were declaring they would have 
no compromise; but Jeff wrote them to be still and allow "things 
to work as long as they would work," as by that means "much 
valuable time was to be gained." The injunction was obeyed. 
Finally, a "Peace Conference" was called by the commanding 
voice of Virginia, and much "valuable time" was gained by its 
pointless, useless deliberations. It was about as well known 
before, as after, the meeting of the Peace Conference, that the 
North would never accept the proposed " ultimatum" of Virginia; 
because, in truth, the so-called ultimatum was nothing more nor 
less than the Breckinridge platform stewed down ; and the men 
who drew it up, being mostly Knights, so far from wishing to 
settle the disturbances of the country by it, only aimed to carry 
out the deep laid plans of Davis, in allaying Northern suspicion, 
dividing Northern sentiment, and winning Northern sympathy, 
while their brothers in Washington were stealing, and those in 
the seceding states were robbing and preparing for defense. 






34 EXPOSITION OF THE 



CHAPTER VI. 

Correspondence between Southern and Northern Knights — 
Men and means proffered — the plan to assassinate Lincoln 

and seize the capital — lincoln's inaugural the " coercion" 

bugbear of the k. g. c. excitement in the cotton states 

the Military Spikit aroused — Floyd's Treason — statement of 
the "Stealings" — a revival of the Union feeling prior to 
the fall of Sumter — the "Confederate States'" Govern- 
ment — THE ATTACK ON SUMTER A SOUTHERN NECESSITY — THE 

Order becoming unpopular, and an increased military spirit 

necessary to revive it the border states and the knights 

thereof — Speech of a Kentuckian — the Rattlesnake's Charm 
— the Love for the American Flag. 

During the winter of* 1860-61, an extensive correspondence 
was going on between Southern and Northern Knights, in which 
the hitter were representing the attachment to " Black Repub- 
licanism" as growing "small by degrees and beautifully less." 
Some of these correspondents even went so far as to undertake 
to prove that, in case of a revolt of the South, Mr. Lincoln, who 
had not yet been inaugurated, could not raise half as many 
men to fight for "the Union, the Constitution, and the enforce- 
ment of the laws," as could be sent South to assist in maintain- 
ing " Southern rights." I did not have an opportunity to read or 
copy any of the numerous letters written by the Northern 
"chivalry," but was informed, by leading spirits of the Order, that 
they had every assurance that they would obtain all the help in 
the North they desired, both in the way of men and means. A 
certain gentleman in Evansville, lnd., had promised a couple of 
regiments, armed and equipped. A certain very prominent poli- 
tician in Ohio had made a similar demonstration of his devotion 
to the South. Another, of the latter stripe, in New York, had 
promised a brigade of five thousand men, furnished for the war. 
The above individuals were to procure their arms, etc., from the 
United States in the same manner as those of their Southern 
brethren had taken them in their section. 

The inauguration of Lincoln being near at hand, some of the 
K. G. C. bethought themselves that it would be a very fine idea 
to assassinate him, and capture Washington, inasmuch as such a 
thrilling movement would strike terror to the hearts of the ^Abo- 
litionists," afford an opportunity to rob the National Treasury, 
and thus secure the entire field in advance. I am ashamed to 
own that there were not a few sneakinir devils north oi Mason 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 35 

and Dixon's line who counseled this diabolical policy, and 
promised assistance in its prosecution. Now, had it not been 
for the encouragement given them from Northern quarters, the 
Southern Castles would never have matured the plan for the Capi- 
tal's seizure as far as they did. 

The plan alluded to, of which the people of the country gener- 
ally had several hints, was as follows: About one thousand men, 
armed with bowie knives and pistols, were to meet secretly at 
Baltimore, where they were to secure the services of the Plug 
Uglies. Thence they were to proceed to Washington, on the day 
previous to the inauguration, and stop at the hotels as private 
citizens, after which their leader was to reconnoiter and select the 
most effective mode of operations on the succeeding day. This 
scheme was not encouraged by Jeff Davis, as he was not yet quite 
crazy enough to think that a few dozen of the "chivalry" could 
terrify the whole world by one demonstration. Wigfall, however, 
thought it a "capital" idea, in more senses than one, and urged 
its vigorous prosecution. Fortunately, the plot was discovered, to 
some extent, in time to give Gen. Scott an opportunity to present 
some very forcible, and, with the K. G. C, decisive arguments 
against it. I know the Governor of Maryland tried to make it 
appear that no contemplated plan for the assassination of the 
President elect existed; but he really knew about as little of the 
matter as Mr. Lincoln himself, and had he known it, would doubt- 
less have done all in his power to conceal the matter, when he 
saw the preparations being made to prevent it, in order to pre- 
serve the fair fame of Baltimore. Finally, the day for the inaugu- 
ration (March 4, 1861) arrived, and the presence of Scott's U. S. 
troops, and the grim appearance of his flying artillery, made the 
occasion as peaceful as it was imposing The anxiously looked 
for inaugural address was delivered, and sent forth on the wings 
of the telegraph to all parts of the country. In the Soufh ic was 
received as a' 4 coercive" document, while in the North, the ma- 
jority regarded it as a conservative exposition of policy. Even 
the majority of Northern Democrats with whom 1 had an oppor- 
tunity of conversing, thought the President could have said no 
less than he did, and abide by the Constitution. The mere inti- 
mation contained in the inaugural speech that the laws would be 
enforced, was all the Knights desired. This was "coercion" 
enough for them, and, in their estimation, no epithet was toocon- 
temptible to apply to those who indorsed it, whether living North 
or South. Here was another chance to sweep loyal Southern men 
from their position of honor into the secession hell. 

After Mr Lincoln's inauguration, one of the first questions for 
him to settle was, " What shall we do with the Confederates and the 
forts?" A question more difficult of solution never came before an 
administration. Mr. Floyd, Buchanan's Secretary of War, had 



36 EXPOSITION OP THE 

devoted about one out of the four years of the preceding adminis- 
tration to the removal of arms in large quantities from the Northern 
and Border Slave States to the six Cotton States, while Toucey, the 
'then Secretary of the Navy, had sent the large majority of our 
available ships-of-war to distant foreign stations — so far off, in fact, 
that they have not, even at the date I am now writing, returned; 
Charleston rebels had garrisoned Fort Moultrie, and erected the 
most powerful and effective batteries all around Sumter, supported 
by a force of seven thousand men; in all the seven seceded states 
men by thousands were being mustered into the "Confederate" 
service, drilled and equipped for war; and, more deplorable than 
all else, there were scores of men in the loyal states who declared 
they could not support Mr. Lincoln in a "coercive" policy. In 
short, the new Administration was literally tied hand and foot, 
and the most that it could do was to await the course of events, 
and take opportunity by the forelock. 

Lest some persons should doubt the truth of the allegations I 
have made against Floyd, I have thought it well to present the 
proofs. The following is from the Richmond Examiner, a South- 
ern paper, especially devoted to the cause of secession : 

" The facts we are about to state are official and indisputable. 
Under a single order of the late Secretary of War, the Hon. Mr. 
Floyd, made during last year, (I860,) there were one hundred 
and fifteen thousand improved muskets and rifles transferred from 
the Springfield armory and Watervliet arsenal to different arsenals 
in the South. The precise destination that was reached by all 
these arms, we have official authority for stating to have been as 
follows : 

Percussion Altered Percussion 

Muskets. Muskets. Rifles. 

Charl^ton (S. C.) Arsenal 9,280 5.720 2,000 

North Carolina Arsenal 15,408 9,520 2,000 

Augusta (Ga.) Arsenal 12,380 7,620 2,000 

Mount Vernon, Alabama 9,280 5,720 2,000 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 18,520 11,420 2,000 

" The total number of improved arms thus supplied to five de- 
positories in the South, by a single order of the late Secretary of 
War, was 114,860. What numbers are supplied by other and 
minor orders, and what number of improved arms had, before the 
great order, been deposited in the South, can not now be ascer- 
tained." 

Besides this, a Memphis paper gives the following list of "seiz- 
ures" of Federal arms by the Confederates, other than those in 
Floyd's list: 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 37 

Baton Rouge 70,000 

Alabama Arsenal 28,000 

Elizabeth, North Carolina 30,000 

Fayetteville, North Carolina 35,000 

Charleston 23,000 

Norfolk 7,000 

Total 193,000 



Thus it appears that nearly three hundred thousand of the best 
arms of the Federal Government were put within the reach of its 
sworn enemies long before the election of Abraham Lincoln to 
the Presidency; and yet there were men among us, pretending to 
be loyal, who, up to the very day of Sumter's bombardment, de- 
clared the "South only wanted her rights; 1 ' that she could be easily 
"compromised back into the Union;" and that it would be a fra- 
tricidal crime to " coerce" her. According to the advanced views 
of this progressive age, it is very wrong to "coerce" a regularly 
organized band of burglars and robbers to justice. I presume 
that if the devil was to lead his impish legions to the very portals 
of Paradise, and threaten to bombard the New Jerusalem, it 
would be very " coercive" in Jehovah to send Michael and his 
army to repulse him. 

Time progressed, and it began to appear that Lincoln's course 
was to be a peaceful one. This had the effect to induce the Union 
men of the South — for there were yet many there — to believe that, 
perhaps, a brighter day was ahead. In fact, the Union feeling 
was becoming so strong, from the lapse of excitement, that, toward 
the close of March, Union flags were raised in Mobile and Natchez. 
The Knights were not blind to this reaction. A little time and 
reflection, they knew, would ruin their enterprise. Meantime, 
many who had been "coerced" into castle were withdrawing, and 
it became clearly obvious that, without some new excitement, the 
cause of the devil would suffer a most inglorious defeat in Ala- 
bama, at least. The truth is, the people in nearly all the Cotton 
States were growing tired of so much extra taxation and slavish 
drudgery for the mere sake of sustaining the name of the " South- 
ern Confederacy." As a means of keeping up u the interest," the 
Montgomery Congress appointed and sent commissioners to Wash- 
ington to treat with the President, a good deal after the manner 
that his Satanic Majesty treated with Jesus Christ on the mount. 
If these commissioners were not officially received, it was to be 
taken for granted that Lincoln intended " coercion; " and yet no 
human being, with any knowledge of the Federal Constitution, 
could explain how the President could negotiate with the " Con- 
federate Commissioners" without violating his oath. The Confed- 
erate Congress, which had met at Montgomery, framed a Consti- 
tution, elected a President, (Davis,) a Vice President, (Stephens,) 



38 EXPOSITION OP THE 

and formed a provisional, or, more properly speaking, bogus gov- 
ernment, could not confer the constitutional authority upon Lin- 
coln to receive their bastard commissioners; Mr. Lincoln himself 
could not do it without having a new constitution forged for the 
occasion — which a good many Northerners seemed anxious he 
should do; so what, in the name of common sense, could be done 
to prevent that thing, so much dreaded by Northerners, and so 
terribly hated by Southrons, called "coercion?" 

In the mean time, something was to be done with Forts Sumter 
and Pickens. If they were not evacuated, that was to be consid- 
ered "coercion;" if they were to be reinforced, that was awful 
"coercion;" finally, if their starving garrisons were to be furn- 
ished something to eat, that was " treacherous coercion." In short, 
everything looking toward the retention of the Federal property 
was construed into " coercion." The " Confederate Commission- 
ers" proposed to purchase the United States property within their 
boundary, in order to "save bloodshed." The leaders in the bogus 
government desired to create the impression tlu>t they intended to 
exhaust every peaceable method for securing the acknowledgment 
of their independence before resorting to arms, while, in reality, 
the uppermost desire in their piratical hearts was that they might 
have a battle ; for, without a battle or two. there was not the least 
hope that the Border Slave States could be induced to secede. In 
proof of this assertion, I refer the reader to the historical fact that, 
when Mr Lincoln had, through the advice of his military func- 
tionaries, concluded to evacuate Sumter, the authorities at Charles- 
ton refused to allow it on any other than their own conditions. 
They would agree to nothing but an unconditional surrender; 
would not allow that the fort should be claimed as United States 
property, nor that Major Anderson should even be allowed to sa- 
lute his flag, on leaving it. 

The ostensible objects, therefore, in sending the "Confederate 
Commissioners" to Washington were, in the first place, to procure 
a battle; in the second place, to avail themselves of sufficient 
time and sympathy to make ample preparations for the future; 
and, in the third place, by their hypocritical pretensions to a de- 
sire for peace, to inflame and draw off the Border Slave States. 

Prominent members of the K. G. C. in the latter-named states 
had written to the authorities in Montgomery, informing them that 
the Order was becoming so unpopular in their region that, in 
many instances, castles were obliged to surrender their charters; 
that their neighbors were becoming even disgusted with the Pro- 
visional Government and the movements of the seceded states, and 
that without something to excite their Southern pride, the cause 
w r ould be lost beyond redemption. A battle at Sumter or Pick- 
ens would excite that pride, and advantage must be taken of the 
first opportunity for a collision. I was in Kentucky about this 
time, (latter part of March, 1861,) and many of the best citizens 



KNIGHTS OP THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 39 

of that state told me that they (the Kentuckians) had no sympa- 
thy with South Carolina, the leader of the rebellion; that they 
even hated her, but that, in case of a " coercive policy " on the 
part of the Federal Administration, State pride would carry them 
with her. 

Southern pride is a thing of remarkable sensitiveness ; so sen- 
sitive, in fact, that, when wounded, it induces men who pretend 
to be very intelligent to overlook all their political, social, and 
personal interests for the mere sake of resentment. I heard a 
man deliver a speech in Owensboro', Kentucky, in which he 
declared that secession was unconstitutional, and that every intel- 
ligent man knew there was no such tiling as " the right of seces- 
sion ; " that, under existing circumstances, there was no excuse 
justifying the act; that the mere election of any man according 
to the prescribed mode of the Constitution, did not justify any 
state in leaving the Union; that Lincoln had done nothing to 
warrant such an action; that it was not probable he would; and 
that, in reality, every man who favored or advocated secession 
was, according to the laws of nations and according to the laws 
of the United States, a traitor and a rebel " But," said he, " our 
interests, our sympathies are with the South, and we must go 
wherever she does. If we do not, we are lost, irrecoverably lost." 
He then referred to the fact that, during the late presidential 
canvass, he had labored zealously for the election of Bell and 
Everett; that he had always been a Union man, had ever loved 
the Union, and that no man had ever done more to prevent dis- 
solution than he, as long as he thought it rational to indulge 
hope, but 'hat the secession of South Carolina was, to him, the 
death-knell of the ITnion. Then, in the most touching and elo- 
quent terms, he alluded to the old American flag; said that with 
his very mother's milk he had imbibed an indescribable love and 
reverence for that flag; that his grandfather had spent the vigor 
of his youth and the flower of his manhood in defending the 
banner of the free in '76; that his father, with his only uncle, 
(David Crockett,) had both fallen upon the battlefield, each fight- 
ing, as long as life and action remained, to sustain the honor of 
the glorious old stars and stripes; that no flag on earth could 
ever occupy the place in his affections that the old American 
ensign had. " But," said he, " I do not like the hands it has 
fallen into. I am a Southern man, we are all Southern men, and 
a Northern sectional candidate has been elected by a sectiona- 
vote. Our sister Southern States have become indignant at this 
action, and have seceded from the Union ; and although we — many 
of us, at least — part with the old Union and the old flag with sighs 
and regrets, we are forced to do it, or submit ourselves to a tyran- 
nical and oppressive 'Abolition' majority, where we will be worse 
than slaves. There would have been no necessity for this act of 
rebellion — for rebellion it is — if our sisters on the Gulf coast had 



40 EXPOSITION OF THE 

staid in the Union, and thereby preserved a Democratic majority. 
So that it is not really any objection to the old Government, or 
hatred to Lincoln, that carries a great many of us with the seced- 
ing states, but a consciousness of our absolute inability to stand 
alone and single-handed against the North, who undoubtedly will, 
now that so many Southern States have gone, rule us with a rod 
of iron." 

The foregoing is, substantially, a speech made in Owensboro', 
on the evening of March 28, 1861, by J. W. Crockett, of Ken- 
tucky. I have quoted it from memory. The best I could do, 
therefore, was to give the substance. The style of the speaker can 
never be conveyed to one that never heard him. J. W. Crockett 
is an orator of great force and surpassing eloquence, and I do not 
remember to have ever heard a speech that produced the effect 
on me that this one did. The speaker was naturally a noble man, 
of generous impulses and warm sympathies, of hopeful soul and 
patriotic heart, but in the worst company that could have been 
selected for him. As he spoke of the glory of the old flag and 
the love he bore it, tears gathered in his eyes and trickled down 
his cheeks, which were covered with the blush of shame; the 
expression of his large gray eye was that of mingled sorrow and 
regret, while his manly breast heaved tumultuously, almost to the 
choking of his utterance. In short, he seemed as " a strong man 
bound," without the power of escaping from those who were ap- 
plying to him the excoriating lash of disunion, and forcing him 
to utter their sentiments, not his. He had been taught by his 
mother to love the country and the flag for which his father had 
died; he had been taught by her to respect the truth and ac- 
knowledge the superior claims of justice; he had been taught to 
avoid evil and keep out of the way of evil doers. But the insid- 
ious serpent of secession had coiled itself about his soul, fastened 
its poisonous fangs upon his heart, and destroyed his manhood. 

Nor is he the only one who has been falsely lured from the 
path of loyalty into the disunion hell. Hundreds, if not thou- 
sands, of others are in the same deplorable condition. Who is 
silly enough to presume that men thus humbled by the remem- 
brance of the past, men thus oppressed by the weight of a guilty 
conscience, can fight for what they know to be an unjust cause, 
as the soldier of freedom can battle for the Union, the Constitu- 
tion, and the star-spangled banner? I am fully convinced that, 
before this war is ended, hundreds of Knights who have been 
■" coerced" into castle and the advocacy of secession, will ask pro- 
tection under the flag of the Union. Will not the response of 
every true American be, u They shall have it?" 

But 1 am about to allow my feelings to carry me too far from 
the point. The object in quoting so largely from the speech of 

J. W. C was to show that the Southern people were growing 

absolutely tired of secession, and that some even of the K. G. C 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN" CIRCLE. 41 

were beginning to reflect, and repent of their crimes. The Confed- 
erate leaders were not blind to these facts. Something, therefore, 
to frenzy their blood, and prevent them from returning to sanity, 
was indispensable to self-preservation. Meantime, South Carolini- 
ans were "spoiling for a fight." They had gone to too much expense 
and trouble not to have one. Mr. Lincoln having refused to sac- 
rifice his own and the nation's honor on the altar of the " nigger 
baby," by not submitting to Jeff Davis's demand of an unconditional 
surrender of Forts Sumter and Pickens, it was considered that a 
fine opportunity for arousing the spirit and pride of the "chival- 
ry " had arrived. It was now generally understood to be the policy 
of the Administration to retain the forts without reinforcements. 
But as the garrisons could not live without something to eat, and 
as their supplies were about exhausted, the reprovisioning of the 
forts was unavoidable. The attempt to carry food to Sumter by 
an unarmed vessel was the signal for its bombardment, April 12, 
1861, which resulted in its final surrender. Meanwhile, it had 
been threatened that, at the shedding of the first blood, an army 
would immediately be ready to march on Washington; and num- 
bers of weak-minded men in the Border States were saying that, 
although they had voted for Bell and Everett, and done all they 
could to prevent dissolution, yet, in case a fight occurred, they 
would be forced to go with the South. 

Really, this thing called Southern sympathy is the most remark- 
able thing I have ever come in contact with. To illustrate: 
Some time before the battle at Fort Sumter, a secession flag was 
being raised in Mobile, around which were gathered several men 
who had, until the departure of their state from the Union, been 
warmly opposed to disunion. Among these was a man who, in 
all respects, bore the marks of a gentleman. When the flag was 
run up, and the crowd were cheering it lustily, this man, to be 
in the fashion, took off his hat, waved it three times round his 
head without saying a word; and just as he was replacing it, 
turned from the intent gaze of a bitter secessionist who stood at 
his elbow, and drawing a long sigh, remarked, in a suppressed 
tone, to himself: '' But that is not the star-spangled banner. It 
will never be the flag of America; and icho can hope for the 
protection under it we enjoyed under the stars and stripes?" 
Another instance: I was in Kentucky immediately after the Sum- 
ter engagement, and the Knights in the town I was stopping at 
having thoroughly "fired the Southern heart," and forced nearly 
every man either into their own way of thinking or to utter 
silence, were, on the 15th of April, engaged in hoisting a J. D. 
flag, with fifteen stars instead of seven. In the assembly gathered 
for this treasonable purpose was a gray-haired veteran of ninety- 
six years, who had served through the war of 1812, and had also 
fought in the frontier wars; was a colonel under Harrison, and 
was in the battle of Tippecanoe. When the emblem of rebellion 



42 EXPOSITION OF THE 

had been thrown to the breeze, and the half-drunken crowd were 
expressing their approbation in demoniac yells, the old soldier, 
for the first time in several years, raised himself erect, and, with 
tears in his eyes, remarked : u I am as good a Southern Rights 
man as anybody, but I can never recognize that flag. I'could fight 
the Yankees or the devil under the stars and stripes, but under 
no other ensign " 

Thus it is with thousands who will compose the rebel army. 
The infatuation which induces the belief that they are to fight in 
defense of their "homes," ''rights," and " sacred soil," which are 
being invaded by a ruthless foe, is nothing to compare with the 
patriotic love and veneration for the stars and stripes which per- 
vades the entire body of our soldiery. And this feeling has not 
altogether died out with those who will fight against that flag, 
under such misguided leaders as Jeff Davis and Beauregard. The 
Southern people have, in every war in which we have hitherto 
been engaged, displayed great courage and gallantry; but 1 firmly 
believe that the demoralizing influence of the unholy cause in 
which they are now required to enlist, will render them totally 
incapable of retaining their former prestige, 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 



CHAPTER VII. 



43 



The Bombardment of Fort Sumter— its Effect upon the Border 
States— Agents of the K. G. C. at work— their cool recep- 
tion in Southern Indiana and Illinois — Gag law and Mob 
rule— Prentice, Guthrie, Johnson, and Brownlow classed as 
"Hard-Shells" — the manner in which proselytes are made— 

THE CANDIDATE IN THE ANTE-ROOM— THE " PRELIMINARY DEGREES," 

their Forms, Symbols, and Oaths— the "Outer Temple"— its 

INITIATORY CEREMONIES THE OUTSIDE DESIGNS OF THE ORDER — HOW 

Conventions, Legislatures, and Elections are controlled — 
''Knights' Safety Guards" and "Knights Gallant" — South- 
ern Ladies sent North as Spies— Plans to destroy Property 
at the North — Northern Sympathizers. 

The battle at Fort Sumter had, to a considerable extent, the 
effect in the Border States that the secession leaders desired it 
should. Virginia was, by the villainous acts of the Knights, 
declared out of the Union, as was likewise Arkansas and Ten- 
nessee, and it was fully expected that every remaining Southern 
State would soon follow, for without all of them it was not hoped 
to make a successful attack on Washington. It was also confi- 
dently expected, from the representations of Northern men, that 
their section would be greatly divided in sentiment, and that much 
assistance might be looked for in that direction. It is not to be 
wondered at "that they should have expected succor from the 
North, when, up to the very day of Lincoln's proclamation, such 

influential men as the Hon. Mr. B , and H , of Indiana, 

the Hon. Mr. V , of Ohio, and other equally prominent men 

had promised that thousands of men in the North " would help 
the South, if the South would help herself." This latter quotation 
I rake from the speech of an Indiana State Senator, made in Ken- 
tucky but a few days before the bombardment of Fort Sumter. 
Said Honorable has since renounced "the faith" and gone over to 
the side of the Union. Many others have " gone and done like- 
wise." Hope their repentance is genuine, and that they will 
"bring' forth fruits meet for repentance." 

About this time, agents were sent into all the border Slave and 
Free States to stir up the Southern feeling, assist in the convoca- 
tion of Secession Conventions, and do all they could in the promo- 
tion of that outside pressure which is indispensable to secession 
everywhere. The first thing for these agents to do, was to institute 
castles wherever a sufficient number of the friends of 'Southern 
Eights" could be called together for the purpose. Those delegated 



44 EXPOSITION OF THE 

to Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Virginia, etc., reported favorably; 
but those who visited Southern Indiana and other Northern border 
States, found the soil and climate very unfavorable, not only to the 
growth of secession sprouts, but to their own personal comfort. To 
their great mortification, they saw that no man north of the Ohio 
river was willing to tie the portion of the state in which he lived 
to the tail end of the rattlesnake, or fight under the flag of three 
stripes and seven stars. Whenever one of these Southern agents 
came in contact with a native Northern Knight, he was immedi- 
ately advised that the "Abolitionists" had the whole North, and 
that it was even inimical to one's individual well-being to say any- 
thing indicating sympathy with Jeff Davis. The result was that 
they left in great disgust. Meanwhile, the Northern Secessionists 
found the Union, or, as they term it, "Abolition" feeling, growing 
so strong that they were denied the " liberty of speech" and were 
forced to content themselves with stretching their countenances, 
drawing long sighs, and deploring " the condition of the country." 
The knowledge of the fact that the whole North, with its superior 
population and wealth, was a unit in defense of the Union; that 
Southern Indiana and Illinois would not " secede" and go with the 
rattlesnake government; that not a corporal's guard of men could 
be found in any Northern State who would fight under any other 
than the old flag; that many hitherto staunch Knights in the 
North were withdrawing from their castles, some of them even 
enlisting in the United States service, and that, consequently, they 
had been most grossly deceived respecting the status of Northern 
affairs — I say, a consciousness of these facts did more to retard 
the progress of rebellion than anything else for the time. A vigor- 
ous attempt would have been immediately made after the battle 
at Sumter to capture the United States' Capital but for the said 
reverse the cause of disunion had met with in the great North. 
But the chagrin experienced in consequence of their unexpected 
disappointment in the Free States, only nerved the K. G. C. to 
more powerful efforts in the South. Castles were built up at every 
little town and cross-roads where one dozen of the faithful could 
be mustered. In every locality where they had the majority, and 
even in some instances where they were in the minority, the gag- 
law was brutishly enforced by mob suasion. Wherever they had 
the power to carry forward their designs in the Border Slave 
States, they were to denounce, in the bitterest terms, every man 
who would not work in concert with them. Men, whether natives 
of North or South, who opposed them, were to be dealt with as 
traitors. I saw a man ordered to leave a little town on the Ken- 
tucky shore, in half an hour's time, or remain and be hung, 
although he had been born and reared in the place. In short, 
all the "coercive" appliances were to be used in Border States 
which had been so successful in the seceded States. But one very 
serious obstacle in the path of their progress was the strong and 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 45 

decided stand which some of the ablest and most influential of 
their own statesmen were taking in favor of the Union. Such 
men as Prentice, Harney, Guthrie, Dixon, Brownlow, Johnson, 
Nelson, and others of that class, stood greatly in their way. These 
were men to be feared far more than Northern foes, for their 
talents, and influence in the South, being commensurate with their 
patriotism, their blows at the snake of secession were powerful 
and effective. All hail to those patriotic giants who, even yet, 
with their love of country undimmed by the sulphurous smoke of 
the despotic hell by which they are surrounded on every hand, 
dare to unsheath their claymores and wield them in defense of 
that government to which they have ever stood devoted. In order 
to the rapid propulsion of the secession car, such men as the afore- 
mentioned were either to be persuaded off the track, or run over. 
In other words, if it was found impossible to win them over to 
secession, they were to be made way with. In castle numerous 
plans were yjroposed to effect these designs. Brownlow and John- 
son they did not hope to convert to their faith ; consequently they 
were to have their '-lights put out." But it was thought that pos- 
sibly, by getting up a strong outside pressure, such as Prentice 
and Guthrie might be induced to recant. In fact, there were 
scores of Knights who, notwithstanding their new-born zeal in the 
cause of the devil, still loved Prentice. He had been their great 
guide when they were old Whigs; he had, for many years, led them 
in his own channel of political philosophy; he had, from their 
earliest recollections, invigorated them with his wit and inspired 
them with his poetry. In short, he had been the monarch of their 
souls, the idol of their affections; and it was no ordinary punish- 
ment to them to be forced to part with him now. They were, 
therefore, willing to extend to him more than ordinary lenity, 
sincerely hoping that in time he would see the " error of his 
ways," and repent in "sack cloth and ashes." They also pre- 
sumed that Prentice, once fairly on the side of disunion, and 
Kentucky was out in a hurry. But for others, for whom they 
lacked the affection they bore Prentice, and who, they apprehended, 
could never, by any influence, be induced to desert the old ship, 
they had in store a vigorous treatment. Various plans were pro- 
posed in castle to get what were termed the hard-shells out of the 
way. Some of them were to be insulted, and, by that means, drawn 
into a fight, which was to terminate in their murder. Others were 
to be poisoned, or assassinated. No act was to be considered 
criminal which had for its object the destruction of "Abolition- 
ists." 1 heard one man say in Kentucky, that he could cut Arch 
Dixon's throat with more pleasure than he could eat his dinner 
when hungry. At the time I left the latter-named state, I fully 
expected, from what I had seen and heard in castle and out, that 
several of her best statesmen would have been foully dealt with 
ere this. They were, however, put on their guard, to my knowl- 



46 EXPOSITION OP THE 

edge, and that, together with the great reaction which has taken 
place in many parts of Kentucky, has, doubtless, prevented the 
commission of some of the blackest crimes ever recorded. 

The extent to which dark and villainous intriguery is being 
practiced by the Knights of the Golden Circle, or, as they should 
be termed, The Imps of Hell, at this time, has rarely ever been 
equaled in the annals of highway robbery. The very manner in 
which they make proselytes is in itself more damnable than any- 
thing which even that old serpent, the devil, has ever invented. 
For instance, a man comes into town from the farming districts. 
He is immediately beset on all sides, and questioned respecting 
his politics, etc., in the following manner: " Sir, are you a Southern 
Rights' man ?' ; il Well, yes, I believe I go in for the rights of the 
South." " Well, there are one or two gentlemen up here at the 

corner, Mr. ■ and Dr. , who desire to see you a few 

minutes. Will you be kind enough to go with us?'' "Certainly." 
They proceed to the ''corner" spoken of, when the "gentlemen" 
alluded to come forward, take the farmer by the hand, greeting him 
very warmly, and ask him if he would no! like to co-operate with 
them in a plan to defend the "homes and firesides" of himself 
and neighbors against " Yankee invasion." " Why, are they going 
to invade us?" "Yes, certainly. We have it, upon reliable 

authority, that several hundred of the d d Hoosiers are within 

a few hours' march of this place." By this time the old man's 
eyes begin to stand out so plumply from their orbits, that in passing 
too near a brush fence there would be danger of him losing them; 
and with his jugulars protruding like ropes from either side of his 
neck, and his mouth thrown wide open, he fairly belches out the 
indignant interrogatory: " What Hoosiers?" "Why, some of 
those Abolition Hoosiers from Pike, and Posey, and Gibson 
counties, with a large number from the Yankee portion of the 
state up about the lakes. You know those Abolitionists in Pike, 
who have always been in the habit of hiding our niggers when they 
ran up about Petersburg, do n't you ? " " Ye-es, 1 have often heard 
of them." " Well, they are at the head of the gang." " Well, 1 want 
it distinctly understood that I am in all over for any plan intended 
to check or punish them." The old gentleman is now asked to take 
a glass of Bourbon — a request with which every Kentuckian will- 
ingly complies — and go "up stairs" with them. On arriving " up 
stairs" he meets several, perhaps a couple of dozen, of the "chivalry," 
by whom he is surrounued and warmly welcomed. He is now led 
into an ante-room and requested to be seated until castle is opened. 
Castle being opened, fifteen — if they have that number present — 
of the Knights proceed to the ante-room, form a crescent-shaped 
circle, from the center of which the captain and lieutenant step 
forward a little in front, when the old gentleman is led by the 
conductor in front, facing the aforementioned officers, and asked, 
by the chief Knight; if " he has any objection to entering an Order 



48 EXPOSITION OF THE 

which, while it will not interfere with his religious sentiments nor 
political views, has for its main object the maintenance of Southern 
rights and the protection of Southern homes." He replies in the 
negative. He is then asked if he is willing to bind himself in an 
oath to aid and assist them in the furtherance of these objects. 
He answers in the affirmative. He has now passed what is termed 
the first of the "preliminary degrees," and is welcomed to the 
circle by a general shake-hands. The officers and the circle retire, 
while some one of the faithful remains outside to talk to him of the 
grandeur, the beauties, and the sublime and holy objects of the 
Order. Presently a rap is heard at the door of the ante-chamber, 
and the question is asked by the guard : "Who comes?" To which 
the lieutenant replies : " The friends of Southern rights, to welcome 
a brother." The door is then opened, and the circle again appears, 
the lieutenant bearing in his left hand a large crescent with 
fifteen stars set in its sides. Old gentleman is again brought up 
facing the captain and lieutenant, who are stationed in the front 
of the circle as before. The chief now enters into a somewhat 
elaborate explanation of the reasons why they conduct the pro- 
ceedings of the Order in a secret manner; among other things, 
telling the candidate that such a manner of proceeding is 
necessary to concert and unity, which are the two first indis- 
pensables to success ; and also that such a course is calculated 
to promote a fraternal and brotherly feeling among them; that 
•the experience of the world has taught us that secret organizations 
are far more effective than public ones, the prejudice of many 
good people to the contrary notwithstanding. 

These explanations having been made, candidate is asked if 
he is now willing to take an oath that he will never reveal anything 
he may see or hear during his initiation. He replies in the affir- 
mative. The oath is now administered; and being further sworn 
to stand devoted to the cause and fortune of the South, he is con- 
sidered through the second of the " preliminary " degrees. Circle 
with officers retire, the requisite preparations are made in the 
arrangement of symbols, etc., and castle is ready to receive can- 
didate into the hall. At the proper signal he is led by conductor 
from the ante-chamber into castle, where he is again met by the 
circle, as in the last-named instance. Candidate is now to swear, 
in the presence of "God and these witnesses," (it should be in the 
presence of the devil and his imps,) that he "will aid and assist, 
to the extent of his ability, in promoting a permanent separation 
of all the Southern from the Northern States," and that he will, 
" both individually, and in concert with the brethren composing 
this Order, use his utmost efforts to ferret out, punish, and expel 
from Southern borders, all who, either directly or indirectly, favor 
the enemies of Southern rights." Having given his assent to this, 
he is considered through the third and last of the "preliminary" 
degrees. Candidate is again conducted to ante-chamber, when 



KNIGHTS OP THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 49 

castle makes full preparations for receiving him into Outer Temple. 
These having been effected, initiate is again led into the hall, and 
received into the embrace of the circle as before. Circle now 
incloses him by forming a complete ring, when the chief an- 
nounces to him, in the most solemn and dignified manner, that 
" he is now a Knight of the Golden Circle." This is positively the 
first time he hears his name, and, in some instances, it makes him, 
as the Hoosiers say, " look wild." He is now sworn to regard his 
duty to his state and his state authorities, and his home and do- 
mestic interests as " paramount to his duty to the United States 
Constitution and all other human enactments." The pass-word, 
which is changed every three months, or oftener, if it is necessary 
to prevent impositions, is then given him, together with the signs 
of the Order, and he is, in all respects, a member of the Outer 

Temple of the Castle of the Knights of the Golden Circle. 

It will be observed that some insignificant changes have been 
made in the ritual within the last few months, by comparing the 
foregoing initiation with what has been said, in previous pages, of 
the form of receiviug members one year or less ago. Just here 
I will remark that with the K. G. C. the ritual is by no means 
as permanent or unalterable as that of most other secret orders; 
and, in fact, nearly every castle is in the habit of modifying this 
instrument to suit the "peculiar" demands of the immediate 
locality in which it is intended to be used. For instance, in Ken- 
tucky and other Border States, in latter days, the various initiatory 
steps to the Inner Temple are much more gradual and conservative 
than they are in the Cotton States ; and, in many cases, where 
it is known that the candidate is a more than usually moral man, 
and somewhat sensitive respecting oaths, the chief has the privi- 
lege of haying aside the ritual for the most part, and tolling the 
applicant in on his own hook. But the supposed case just cited 
unfolds the general plan, and it will be seen that the most flagrant 
misrepresentations, and the most unscrupulous lying are resorted 
to for the purpose of making additions. An honestly disposed 
man is picked up in the street, and is hardly aware of it before he 
has taken the most binding oaths to violate the constitution of his 
country, trample the United States laws under his feet, and assist, 
with his whole power, in the carrying out of the most treasonable 
and diabolical crimes against the government and its supporters. 
But so fur as the government and formal regulations of the castles 
are concerned, they are of very little importance within themselves. 
It is the outside designs of the Order at this time, and the various 
plans adopted, from time to time, to prosecute them, that should 
receive most attention, inasmuch as they threaten not only the 
subsequent ruin and destruction of the American Republic, tut 
menace the happiness and well-being of every neighborhood and 
family north of Mason and Dixon's line, especially those of the 
western Border States. 



50 EXPOSITION OF THE 

I will now proceed to give a systematic exposition of these de- 
signs, and their modes of prosecution, as far as I was able to obtain 
a direct knowledge of them up to the time I left the South, im- 
mediately after the fall of Sumter. In the first place, in order to 
drag the Border Slave States out of the Union, it is determined 
upon to either ''coerce'' the State Legislatures into the calling 
of conventions for the passage of secession ordinances, or call one 
themselves, through the Governor or otherwise. In the second 
place, in the election of delegates to such conventions they are 
bound to have their own kind of men chosen by the use of the 
following appliances: First, Large numbers of Knights from 
adjoining states arc to be imported, armed, and prepared for any 
emergency. These arc to attend the elections, and, if they can not 
succeed in rating their own illegal votes, are to stand around the 
polls, and by curses, threats, and even violence, if necessary, force 
weak-spin ed Union men to vote the Secession ticket. Second, 
Knights of the Inner Temple arc, if possible, to be chosen as 
tellers and clerks of the various precincts at the day of election. 
Third, Between the time of the announcement and the holding of 
said election, all, or at least as many as p / those who are 

known to be staunch, immovable Union men, are to be driven out 
of their state, detained from the election, cither by stratagem or force, 
or made way with. Nothing but the overawing influence of vastly 
superior numbers of resolute Union men, or the presence of United 
States soldiery, can prevent the carrying out of this part of the 
programme. After the submission of the ordinance to the popular 
voie by th" convention, the same means are to be used in further- 
ance of its a ■•!• ption as those applied in the previous election. 

In the sei ond place, after they have succeeded in getting out 
of the Union hey intend having committees, to be called " Knights' 
Safety Guar appointed, to watch every man of whom they have 
the least doub and whether native of North or South, if any hold 
can be gain sd upon bim, he is to be dealt with in any way the 
"Guards" see proper. They need not bring such person 

before the pv >per authorities for a formal trial, but may barrel 
him up and throw him into a river, tar and feather him, and send 
him North, shoot, hang, or deal with him otherwise, as their 
"judgments'' may dictate. Thirdly, guerrilla parties are to be 
formed, both to harrass Northern troops on their passage through 
their seel to make devastating forays upon the North. 

These are called, in castle, "Knights Gallant." Their mission 
is whcrc\ ish to go, and their license to take what they 

can, and do what they please, except to injure or violate females 
or little children. "Knights Gallant" are sworn to protect 
female virtui ad children's lives, even at the peril of their own. 
By the "Knights Gallant" provisions are to be secured from 
ISorthwestern States, in case of a scarcity in the South, for the 
Southern army. All the property or money they can obtain 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 51 

in the course of their perambulations is to be considered as 
Southern wealth. When Southern armies desire to march North- 
ward, the services of the K. G. are to be secured as guides and 
scouts. A continual correspondence is to be kept up with the 
known and tried Knights of the North, so as to assist the K. G., 
either in making forays or conducting forces; to secure such 
knowledge of those points where provisions, stores, prizes, etc., 
may be taken with most ease, as was necessary, and also to 
ascertain by what routes such provisions and stores can be most 
easily conveyed to Southern borders. Fourthly, the true and 
faithful members of the Order living in the Northern States are 
to play the hypocrite on a most extensive scale, by making loud 
and enthusiastic professions of loyalty to the government, while, 
in the mean time, they are to act as spies, communicating to 
the nearest castles the various movements of Northern troops, and 
the most accessible routes of inarch and points of attack for Southern 
forces. Fifthly, influential mombers in the North are to be 
induced, if possible, to raise companies of militia under the 
requisition of President Lincoln, secure their arms and equipments, 
and then turn them over to the "Confederate" service; such 
companies being composed of men who are known to be true 
friends of the South. Just here I will drop a hint to the friends 
of American freedom. No man in the North ivho expressed 
sympathy with the South, or who violently opposed the movements 
of the Government, until the overwhelming force of public opinion 
drove nan into the Union ranks, should be trusted with any patriotic 
duty, or allowed to command even a corporal- s guard of men, until 
he has furnished the most reliable evidence of loyal ty ; and, in many 
instances, where there is good reason to presume, from a man s past 
acts, that his feeling.; are strongly Southern, or that he is not fully 
trustworthy, even though from the first that he heard of the 
President's Proclamation calling for troops he has made strong 
Union professions, it is highly important to keep a close watch 
over him, and nee that he gains no advantage I have, as yet, 
heard of but one place in any Northern star- ay portion 

of that part of the Knights' programme under head fifth has 
been commenced, and that was in Martin County, Indiana. The 
man who was at the head of the movement is n; . : Urongoole. 
(The Cinci tmati papers call him, improperly, Dromgo le ) This imp, 
whom the devil will, doubtless, be ashamed to own, but who, in 
all probability, will soon resemble the famous \, linist, Paginini. 
in one respect, viz.: his capacity to play on u one string,'' wrote 
to the Corresponding Secretary of the Nashville Castle, where he 
hold ! his membership, informing said secretary, that he could 
easily raise a regiment of one thousand men in Martin County to 
fight for the South. The secretary replied, advising him to imme- 
diately communicate the glad tidings to Jeff Davis, as the case 
would be readily attended to. Drongoole did write Jeff, giving 



52 EXPOSITION OF THE 

him the "most satisfactory" evidences of his ability to muster the 
aforementioned regiment into the "Confederate service." Jeff 
replied, commending his "true and faithful" servant very highly 
for his "noble and patriotic" endeavors; but, for one time in his 
life, at least, seemed to have been remiss in the exercise of those 
" far-seeing " qualities for which his confederates give' him so 
much credit, in inclosing his letter in an envelope bearing the 
Confederate flag on its exterior. 

The recognition of this emblem by the postmaster at Dover Hill 
resulted in the opening and reading of Jeff's epistle, the contents of 
which soon becoming public, so highly excited the " Confederate" 
patriotism of the citizens of Martin county, that they could not 
refrain from manifesting their otherwise inexpressible approbation 
of the noble Drongoole and his course, by means of fervent, patri- 
otic kicks and blows, so well laid on that he came near yielding 
up the ghost. Drongoole, whether from the advice of his physi- 
cian or not, concluded that it would be well for him to travel 
South a little for his health, before undertaking to lead a regi- 
ment of Martin county Hoosiers against "Lincoln's army." 

But if he had not been detected in good time he would have 
effected much harm. There are others, who are far less suspected 
than he was, of whom we may expect more real harm. While 
passing through Sullivan county, on my way to Indianapolis, 
a certain gentleman residing in that county, told me, privately, 
that he intended raising a company of one hundred men to 
fight for Jeff Davis ; at least he would make the attempt. He also 
told me that if Davis was to march an army through his neigh- 
borhood on that very day, devastating the country as he went, 
that he, with many more, would join him. This gentleman was 
not a member of the K. G. C, but had been under the special 
influence and teachings of one who lived in his immediate neigh- 
borhood; he had not yet caught the signal of silence, and was, 
therefore, openly expressing his imbibed sentiments. I talked 
with him shortly afterward, and he had, to all appearance, under- 
gone a most wonderful and miraculous conversion. He was now 
a strong Union man, and a bitter enemy to Jeff Davis. This 
apparently remarkable change I could easily account for, when I 
had seen him, in the interim between the first and last conver- 
sations, talking with a certain individual who recognized the sign 
of the crescent. By some close maneuverings, I found that the 
last-mentioned individual had several proseltyes in and around 
his neighborhood, and that it was the intention of these to form 
a " Home Guard" to act in "emergencies." They could not, how- 
ever, be induced, by a certain gentleman who was then enrolling 
a company for Government service, to go from home to fight the 
battles of the country, although several of them were stout young 
men, foot-loose, and unemployed. 

Mysteries of this kind require some explanation, and wherever 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 53 

they appear, should undergo the closest scrutiny. A close dis- 
cerner of men and things can generally detect treachery, where 
it exists, in a man's motions and the expressions of his eye, what- 
ever his lip pretensions may be ; and in times such as these it 
is well, yea, even highly important, to exercise a most vigilant 
watch over all a man's little actions, where there is any just foun- 
dation for doubt. 

But to the sixth plan in the secession programme of to-day.* 
This plan is to be carried out by sending such of the patriotic 
Confederate ladies as will come, into the Northern States, for the 
purpose of acting as corresponding agents and spies. While 
making pretensions that they are Southern refugees, and that 
they have been scared away from their homes by fears of negro 
insurrections, or that they are come North to improve their health 
and enjoy tranquillity of mind, they are to be constantly on the 
alert for news respecting the designs of the Government or the 
movements of armies, and transmit the same to the proper author- 
ities in the South. Further, they are to act, wherever it is pos- 
sible to do so, in the capacity of beasts of burden, (I do not use 
this term disparagingly,) to convey contrabrand articles to such 
agents or places as shall insure their safe delivery to the seces- 
sionists. This may seem highly improbable to many, but it should 
be remembered by all that a woman is decidedly a great insti- 
tution, and that by means of such efficient and extensive modern 
facilities as crinoline, etc., she could effect considerable in the 
way of exporting small arms, percussion caps, etc. 

In the present troubled condition of the country, the good cit- 
izens of the loyal states will experience no little difficulty in 
determining who is a spy and who is not, especially in the case 
of ladies ; because there will be many fleeing to the North as real 
refugees; many who, in consequence of the miserable days and 
fearful, sleepless nights they have spent during long and gloomy 
weeks, will sacrifice home, with all its former endearments, for 
the sake of finding a place where they may rest their wearied 
frames and compose their excited minds. But while it is true 
that many truly noble and excellent women will seek the North 
for these purposes, and these alone, it is also true that some, at 
least, will come for far different purposes. It will, therefore, be 
necessary to be hospitable, while we are prudent ; kind and sym- 
pathetic, while we are vigilant and watchful. 

Finally, it is the intention of the K. G. C. to send incendiary 
agents — men who scruple at nothing, care for nothing — for the 
purpose of committing raids, destroying property, etc., wherever 
such service can in any way facilitate the cause of secession. 
For instance: When an army, or any considerable number of 
troops, are rendezvousing at a determinate point on the border, 

*April20,1861. 



54 EXPOSITION OF THE 

and it is necessary, in order to the successful prosecution of any 
Confederate design, to have them removed, these incendiary agents 
are to set fire to some town or city near by, in order that the 
Government forces may be attracted from their post. Thus it was 
planned to burn New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, 
just after the battle at Fort Sumter, to the end that the United 
States troops might be called away from Washington, and its cap- 
ture thereby rendered easy. None but Knights of the Inner 
Temple are intrusted with this kind of work. They must be, at 
the same time, shrewd, active, bold, and faithful. Wonderful to 
say, some of the very agents who were to burn the cities just 
referred to, were not only residents of the places they intended 
to burn, but actually owned property in them. This, however, was 
to be "indemnified" by the Cotton Confederacy. 

Nothing but the unanimous uprising of the loyal masses of the 
North, the exercise of an unexpected vigilance, and an unceasing 
watch-care, saved those cities. The great trouble here, as in the 
case of the female spies, is to know whom to watch, inasmuch as 
all of them make loud professions of loyalty so soon as they set 
foot on Northern soiL The true policy is to watch everybody with 
whom we are unacquainted, until we have the most satisfactory 
evidence that they are true. In point of close scrutiny and vigi- 
lance, we of the North are far behind the Southern people. No 
sooner does a stranger arrive at any Southern town or depot, than 
he is beset on all sides by " Knights' Safety Guards," or, as they 
are called by the outsiders, Vigilance Committees, who proceed 
immediately to quiz him in the most abrupt and complicated 
manner. He is examined and cross-examined in various ways, 
until the "chivalry" are thoroughly satisfied; he must reply to 
their questions in the most direct and unequivocal manner; he is 
allowed no room for dodges or evasions, but must come right up 
to the mark; and even after he has answered all questions in the 
most explicit and satisfactory manner, is still an object of sus- 
picion and scrutiny. We, on the other hand, are exceedingly 
mild in our demands, careless, indifferent, and lenient; take it for 
granted that a man is loyal merely because he says he is, and 
frequently allow him even to talk treason, thinking that it do n't 
amount to much, inasmuch as the Union sentiment is " so strong." 
I have heard men say things in Terre Haute and Indianapolis, 
in public places, for which, if we were half so vigilant as the 
K. S. G. in the South, we would hang them to the nearest tree we 
could find. Now, I do not propose that we should adopt the brutal, 
merciless system of the Knights, but that, in view of the real de- 
mands of the country, and the safety of our neighborhoods, fami- 
lies, and persons, we should see to it, and see to it well, that no 
man, whether neighbor or stranger, has an opportunity to do or 
say any harm. 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, 55 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The North too confident — the Southern strength underrated 
— the extent of the Brotherhood at the North, and in the 
Border States — Kentucky's Neutrality — the "State Guard" 
controlled by the k. g. c. — the governor of kentucky a 
Knight — the War of 1861 — Justice unknown to the Traitor 
Fraternity — the Sword the only argument that will exact 
Justice — Vigilance at the North essential — the feeling at 
the South since the War began — Negro insurrections — Bru- 
tality of the Knights — their mode of carrying on the War — 
what they intend to accomplish. 

I find, in passing through Northern towns and neighborhoods, 
that the people are entirely too confident in the strong arm of the 
government and their own superior wealth and numbers. They 
do not appear disposed to make any deductions in favor of the 
South, in view of its more extensive and complex strategic system; 
and, in many instances, when I have told them of the many 
destructive secret plans of the secessionists, they seemed loth to 
believe the statement; it appeared to them impossible that the 
Southern traitors should have become " so grossly depraved." It is 
toonderful, indeed, that the same robbers who coolly pocketed 
thousands of dollars of our money and appropriated it to the 
rebellious government, and who stole nearly three thousand stand 
of our arms, and sent our army and navy so far out of reach that 
we could not avail ourselves of their services in time of danger, 
should subsequently plot the destruction of our towns and cities, 
and the confiscation and appropriation of our property. Whether 
my exposition of the thieving, murderous, destructive schemes of 
the Confederate rebels is believed or not, they will, before the lapse 
of many months, become so fully manifest, that even the most in- 
credulous will be forced to acknowledge that what 1 have said is 
true. But 1 sincerely trust that the honest warnings of one who 
has repeatedly risked his life to obtain an actual knowledge of the 
treacherous designs of the avowed enemies to American freedom, 
may not pass unheeded. I earnestly hope that those who have 
the direction of affairs, as well as private individuals, will keep 
constantly before their minds the following facts: First. That 
the present deplorable condition of the country 1ms been brought 
about by the continuous workings of that same diabolical clique 
who began a regular system of slave piracy thirty years ago. 
Second. Tlmt the whole course of that clique, from the first period 
of its history to the present day, has been one of unexampled 



56 EXPOSITION OF THE 

villany and enmity toward the Federal Government. Third. 
That in view of the fact that they have, from the beginning, been 
duly conscious of the unjustifiableness of their course, the treach- 
ery of their designs, and the deficiency of their resources, they 
will not, cannot, place the least reliance in the use of fair ami 
honorable means. Fourth. That the recent developments at New 
York, Philadelphia, and Cairo, justify us in the worst apprehen- 
sions. And finally, that it is always well, in times such as these, 
to be fully prepared for every contingency; that it is impossible 
to be too careful of ourselves, or too watchful of those who are 
our sworn enemies. 

While in the South, I wrote several letters to the New York, 
Boston, and Philadelphia press, and also to the Cincinnati papers, 
incog., giving them timely warning of the imminent peril of those 
cities. Whether they Avere all received and published, 1 do not 
know; but certain I am that some of them were, and that, in all 
probability they were, to a considerable extent, the means of 
saving those town from destruction. I would also have written to 
Cairo, but that at that time I did not know who to address. I had 
been told, by prominent Knights, that there were many of their 
number in the latter place, and all through Southern Illinois. I 
was not, however, favored with any of their names. I was also 
told that there were enough in Southern Indiana to render their 
Confederate brethren considerable assistance. It was presumed, 
at one time, that, by the aid of these Hoosier and "Egyptian" 
Knights, the whole of Southern Indiana and Illinois could be 
made over to Jeff Davis. In this wild calculation they were very 
grandly disappointed, as everybody knows. It need not, however, 
be believed that there are none of the K. G. C. left in those sec- 
tions, as I shall now proceed to show, from the following statistical 
account, which I received from the Corresponding Sec. of Jefferson 
Castle, Kentucky: In New Albany there are about 25 Knights; 
in Madison 18; in Evansville 15; in Davies county, Ind., 10; in 
Sullivan county, about 30; in Spencer county, 45; in Vincennes, 
14; in Washington county, 10; in Gibson county, 7; in Cairo, 
111., there are, or were, a few weeks ago, 300, and from 100 to 200 
in neighboring towns; so that in all there are in the neighbor- 
hood of 550 Knights yet in Southern Indiana and Illinois, unless 
they have lately migrated or renounced the faith. The majority 
of them, however, are not very dangerous just now without a 
leader, as they are of what is termed the "small fry." There was 
one in Evansville, and also one in Princeton, Ind., who might be 
feared, but due notice of their characters having been given to the 
proper authorities of those places some time since, they have been 
properly attended to, and will be prevented from committing any 
overt act. The way in which these resident Knights will do great 
harm hereafter is in conveying intelligence to the friends of 
"Southern rights" of the movements of troops and- the chances 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 57 

of spoil in various places, which intelligence, in the future, may 
prove highly important to the rebels. Some of them may also be 
mean enough to poison their patriotic neighbors, or do sly injury 
to such of the government troops as they may be convenient to. 

Members of the Inner Temple of the Knights of the Golden 
Circle are to be scattered all through Missouri, Kentucky, Vir- 
ginia, and Maryland, for the purpose of harrassing and injuring 
the friends and soldiers of the Union in every way they can. No 
particular programme is made out for them, but they are to do 
whatever they can, in any way, or by any means available. If they 
can use poison successfully, they will do it; if they can, by false 
statements, so direct the movements of the United States troops 
as to cause them a loss or a defeat, they will do that ; if they find 
it convenient to burn a town or destroy a bridge, they will not be 
condemned by their directors for that act; if they can give the 
"Knights Gallant" any sure directions for the capture of prizes, 
etc., they will be highly rewarded and praised for that. In short, 
they are to make themselves generally useful. But one thing above 
all others, some one of them is to distinguish himself for, if he 
can, and that is, the assassination of the "Abolition" President. 

It matters not whether Maryland and Kentucky go out of 
the Union or remain in it, they will be, to a very considera- 
ble extent, occupied by the worst enemies the government has. 
The proclamations of the Governors of such states, prohibiting 
the passage of Confederate troops over their territory, will have 
about as "much effect on the Knights as a moonbeam has on an 
iceberg in the North pole. They will provide ways and means 
for the trans-movements of Confederate soldiers without any 
knowledge of the matter ever reaching the Governor. There are 
nearly six thousand Knights in Kentucky, about three thousand 
in Maryland, and a great many in Delaware, and so long as the 
chief executives of those states do not issue proclamations order- 
ing the disbanding of their castles, yea, and even the execution 
of those who continue loyal to the Order, just so long will their 
efforts to prevent treasonable acts be null and void. 

Nor is the position of armed neutrality likely to be assumed by 
some of the Border States to be regarded otherwise than as the 
most dangerous one they could occupy, for the following conclu- 
sive reasons : First. Among the most forward of those who enter 
the "State Guard " will be the members of the Inner Temple of 
the K. G. C. Second. Having secured the state arms, no matter 
how much they swear to use them only in defense of their state, 
they will readily and cheerfully employ them in making night 
forays into Northern borders, in promoting the passage of contra- 
band goods to secessionists, in guarding and protecting our ene- 
mies in their midst, or in assisting the passage of secession troops 
through certain routes in their states to Northern points. There 
can be no doubt that they would, in many instances, render the 



58 EXPOSITION OF THE 

Southern traitors more effective assistance in the capacity of neu- 
tral " State Guards" than in any other they could serve. 

Through many routes lying across Western Kentucky secession 
forces could he conveyed, in disguised Rquads, to out-of-the-way 
places along the Illinois border above Cairo, especially when es- 
corted by Knights in the character of "State Guards." These 
trans-movements could be effected under cover of the night, in 
utter ignorance of the Governor of Kentucky. But inasmuch 
as his Honor, Governor Magoffin, is said to be himself a Knight 
of the first magnitude, and inasmuch as his indignant refusal to 
comply with the demands of the Government, with many other of 
his recent acts, indicate strong sympathy, if not affiliation, with 
Jeff Davis & Co., it is not at all probable that he would exert 
himself to the endangering of his personal comfort to ascertain 
what might be going on everywhere. 

Further, while an armed State Guard, largely composed of Inner 
Templars, would, to say the least, allow Southern soldiers to pass 
over to Northern borders without interruption, they would repel, 
with all their might, a Northern detachment that might be in 
pursuit of Confederate desperadoes. Now, while it is true that 
there are numbers of sworn enemies to the United States in the 
Border Slave States, it is also true that there are many warm and 
devoted friends to the Union in those states. But these latter will 
stand a very poor chance against the secessionists, from the fact 
that, although they are largely in the majority, they know not how 
to compete with the Knights in scoundrel ism. In latter times, it 
seems that a minority of rascals is greatly superior to a majority 
of honest men. What villains lack in numbers and power, they 
more than make up in intrigue and activity It is an historical 
fact that pirates can easily whip double their number of honorable 
soldiers. So of the K. G. C. in the Border States : they never fear 
of success in any of their undertakings whore they have but twice 
their number of Union men to oppose. I will cite a case in point: 

In the town of Owensboro', Kentucky, there was a large majority 
of Union men up to the time of the bombardment of Sumter; but 
no sooner had the news of that affair reached the place than every 
Knight in town seized a musket, imbibed a pint or so of the seces- 
sion" element, (whisky,) and paraded up and down the streets, 
swearing he'd " be d — d if any man dare Bay Union in that local- 
ity." On the following evening they called a secession meeting, 
where all the "good and tried" gathered, with their guns, their 
pistols, their knives, and, above all, their whisky Secession 
speeches were made, cheers for Jeff & Co. were given, groans and 
curses for Lincoln and the "Abolition" government. A Union 
man could not find room to breathe freely. Finally, a Vigilance 
Committee was announced, to be composed of Messrs. So-and-So, 
(this committee was appointed the evening previous in castle, and 
was a "Knights' Safety Guard,) and the important duty of driving 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 59 

"Abolitionists" out of town assigned it. The meeting adjourned, 
the committee aforesaid imbibed afresh of the ''Confederate" 
element, and went about the exercise of its functions with a re- 
markable degree of alacrity. They even hunted till midnight to 
find a " Union man" swearing no such individual would find the 
atmosphere of Owensboro' healthy;" that it would do them good 
to "run a bayonet through an Abolitionist," etc. Where is the 
decent man that could withstand such a demonstration as this ? 

It will be seen, from the expositions of the last few pages, that 
the enemy of American liberty in the United States is a very wily 
one; that he is no ordinary enemy, and, therefore, can not be 
successfully dealt with by ordinary means. The armies of the 
Union will find the intrigue of the secessionists far more fatal 
than their steel. While boasting of their bravery and chivalry, 
they are, at the same time, the most sneaking, contemptible cow- 
ards that ever trod the earth. The Southern people were once a 
very noble people, truly chivalrous and brave. They were so in 
the days of Washington, Marion, Sumter; but their glory has van- 
ished in later } r ears, and their bravery is no more. Of course this 
remark is not meant to be applied universally. There are still 
brave Southrons, but they are among the few, not the many. 
Scarcely a single instance is on record where a Southern man, 
in recent years, has manifested a willingness to meet an antago- 
nist on fair and equal footing. In nearly every modern duel or 
personal rencounter between a Northern and a Southern man, or 
between a slave aristocrat and a liberal Southron, we find that the 
oligarchs have fought on their own plan, with a clear and decided 
advantage. The brutal attack on Senator Sumner by the fiendish 
Brooks, the cowardly murder of Senator Broderick, and many 
other instances of like character, fully and conclusively establish 
the truth of this statement. 

From the very commencement of the secession movement, the 
disunionists have displayed little else than treachery and coward- 
ice; and they do not hope to attain their ends by good engineer- 
ing and brave fighting, but by rascality and incendiarism. This 
is the way they began, and it is the way they intend to finish. 
They have, at this time, at least a dozen spies North where we 
have one South; and the great difficulty is, that so many of their 
agents are residents among us, and have been for years ; and 
while we are depending on them as loyal assistants, and they are 
making some show in that direction, they are, at the same time, 
playing into the hands of our enemies in the most skillful and 
effective manner. 

Again, there are the ladies. Who knows what to do with them, 
or how to manage them? A woman is, at best, a rather unman- 
ageable creature, but a secession lady is especially so. Courtesy, 
politeness, good breeding, demand that a woman should be kindly, 
respectfully treated ; and the superior improvements in modern 



60 EXPOSITION OP THE 

etiquette, and the extraordinary progress and developments of the 
crinoline age, demand that we of the masculine gender should 
keep at a " respectable distance" on a "short acquaintance." In 
view of these facts, and in consideration of the importance at- 
tached to the character of a female spy, I would suggest the pro- 
priety of appointing female vigilance committees in every town 
and neighborhood, to whom shall be assigned the duty of keeping 
an eye on their sister visitors from the sunny South, their trunks, 
skirts, etc. Among other things, it would be well for these female 
committees to see that no letters from a strange lady, directed to 
any point South, should go into the post-office unexamined; and 
this should be especially and particularly attended to where there 
is good reason for suspicion. The superior judgment of our 
Northern ladies would of course enable them to conduct their 
operations in a proper and becoming manner. 

I know it seems rather rude, in this age of refinement, to de- 
mand a knowledge of the contents of a woman's letter, or of the 
character of the articles in her trunk; and, more especially, of 
the amount of " steel" etc., contained in her skirts. But it should 
be borne in mind that these are war times; that our liberties are 
at stake; that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty;" that 
those who threaten our ruin and the destruction of the country, 
are aiming to take every dishonest advantage of us ; that no con- 
descension is too low for them; and that, therefore, we are fully 
justifiable in the use of any and every means which has for its 
object the retardation of their nefarious schemes. 

The men who have precipitated this country into civil war have 
never had any sense of justice, and all their pretensions in that 
direction are, and ever have been, false. The lofty dignity attribu- 
ted to Jeff Davis is precisely the same kind of dignity manifested 
by his father, the devil, in the garden of Eden, when he promised 
our mother Eve that if she would pluck and eat of the forbidden 
fruit she and her progeny should be as gods. Conscience, among 
secessionists, is an obsolete term, if Webster has properly defined 
it, and, consequently, all appeals to that high moral faculty will 
have about as much effect in checking their villainous movements 
as the wind from a hand-bellows would have in retarding the 
course of a hurricane. When men, such as the leaders of the 
present rebellion, are successfully met, it must be upon their own 
ground, and to a very considerable extent, at least, with their own 
weapons. I admire the high moral tone of the present administra- 
tion, as manifested in its refusal to allow of the confiscation of the 
effects of the Southern traitors in Northern states. But while I 
admire it, and while I would hold it up as an example to the 
world, under all ordinary circumstances, yet I can but consider 
it, in the present condition of things, as not only impracticable, 
but as absolutely suicidal and unjust both to the government and 
the people of the North. While we stand up in our high moral 



KNIGHTS OP THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 61 

rectitude, and refuse to touch a single cent's worth of the Southern 
banditti's property in our midst, they are not only levying upon 
and appropriating whatever of our effects may chance to be found 
in their states, and, thief-like, refusing to pay what they honestly 
owe us, but, as has been shown in preceding pages, are organizing 
the most effective bands of highway robbers and plunderers to 
depredate upon Northern soil. Further, they have made all 
necessary arrangements to send among us their bogus male and 
female refugees, to act in concert with our own native traitors, 
as aids and assistants to their hellish desperadoes. So we see, 
and are bound to admit, that the superior moral position assumed 
by the government, while it is more than fair for the rebels, is 
positively oppressive and destructive to us. I presume the extra- 
ordinary justice shown the secessionists in this affair is to reward 
them for the ample service they rendered the nation some time 
ago, in stealing its treasury, robbing it of its arms, and poisoning 
such of its officials as were found susceptible. The refusal of the 
President to allow the Pennsylvania merchants to levy upon the 
property of Southrons in their state, although undoubtedly well 
meant, was little better, in consideration of all the facts in the 
case, than taking the worth of such property immediately out 
of their pockets. It is the absolute duty of the United States 
authorities, and of state authorities, to secure and appropriate 
every dime's worth of the property of the disunionists found north 
of Mason and Dixon's line; a duty in every sense of the term, 
morally, religiously, and pecuniarily. Men in revolutionary times^ 
such as these, in successfully opposing an enemy such as we have 
to meet, must be practical, not theoretical. They must view both 
sides of every issue, and be able to see justice in more than one 
light, and as to be applied in more than one direction. A set 
of men who have been maturing schemes of national robbery and 
piracy for nearly thirty years are not to be conquered by appeals 
to something of which they have not the slightest knowledge — 
conscience. Men who can employ their women to assist in 
plundering our homes and despoiling our domestic happiness, arc 
not to be affected by the mild principles of Christianity. The 
bayonet will penetrate them much more effectively than the moral 
teachings of Christ; a ten-inch columbiad will present far more 
weighty and convincing arguments to them than the most learned 
and powerful theologian in the world, and a few dollars taken 
from their pockets will do more to weaken their diabolical reso- 
lutions than all the appeals that could be made to their (o) sense 
of honor in a century. 

As has already been indicated, there are yet several Knights 
scattered about in various places over the country, and wherever 
they are, they exert a greater or less influence upon those who 
immediately surround them. There are many traitors in the 
North who do not belong to the K. G. C, but they are, in most 



62 EXPOSITION OF THE 

instances, the disciples of one or more who live in their neigh- 
borhood For instance, in Carlisle, Sullivan county. Indiana, 
there arc from fifteen to twenty Jeff Davis subjects, who absorb 
the teachings and obey the mandates of a Knight of the Outer 
Temple, and he, with them, has repeatedly sworn that if he fights 
for anybody, it will be for Jeff Davis. This individual has a rela- 
tive in tire Booth that he frequently visits, with whom he is in 
regular correspondence, and to whom he transmits the news of 
the condition of affairs in Southern Indiana. He often receives 
letters enveloped in the secession flag, but the post-master of Car- 
lisle being as scoundrelly a traitor as himself, nothing is said of 
the matter. This arch-fiend, not only has his proselytes in Carlisle, 
but claims quire a number of followers in various places in Sulli- 
van county. Again, there is, in Davies county, Indiana, a clique 
of similar character, governed and controlled by several Knights. 
This combination is more powerful than the one in Sullivan, and 
once or twice even threatened to mob any company of U. S. vol- 
unteers that might be formed in Davies. They concluded not to 
do it, however, 1 beiieve. There is not the least doubt that, under 
the auspices of Drongoole, in Martin, and in some few parts of 
Pike counties, there is another traitorous garrg of marauders. I 
am not thoroughly informed whether there are any combinations 
in any other localities along our Southern border, but presume 
there are, especially about Madison, New Albany, and Rockport. 
The almost universal loyal feeling which prevails in those places, 
will, beyond doubt, check any outward displays in favor of the 
enemy by the Daviesites; but it need not be presumed that "no 
danger.' which is always the cry of the over-confident, need be 
apprehended from them. They may become "converted" to the 
Union doctrine, and join "home guards," or even enlist in the 
government service, especially if they can get to be officers, and 
still render the most effective assistance to the South. 

I had It from prominent Knights, that full and complete arrang- 
ments had been made with sundry members in the North, to fur- 
nish them important dispatches in the following manner: They, 
the N.orihrrn members, were to remain in their respective locali- 
ties, make loud professions of Union sentiments, gather all the 
news they could, by telegraph and otherwise, and transmit the 
same, through men of their own stripe, from town to town through 
the post offices, until it reached a border town, and here it was to 
be conveyed across the line, to the nearest Southern town, and 
mailed to the proper persons. Others, again, were to join the U. S. 
army, transmit dispatches in a similar manner, create false im- 
pressions respecting the movements of Southern troops, etc., and 
thereby draw our men into dangerous and destructive snares. Still 
others were to join home guards, make sufficient Union noise to pre- 
vent suspicion and, in the meantime, act as secret escorts to South- 
ern scout d recting them by the proper routes, telling them where 



ENIHTTTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 63 

friends were, and by what means they could best accomplish their 
ends. It will be seen that in all these capacities Northern traitors 
could yield much assistance to the "Knights Gallant" mentioned in 
the programme of general movements, given in preceding pages. 
I also understood that similar arrangements, on a much more ex- 
tensive and complicated scale, had been made in nearly all the 
Eastern towns and cities. It was presumed that the city of New 
York, alone, contained at least five hundred Knights of the Inner 
Temple ; that among them were telegraph operators, post-office 
clerks, and express agents: that these were of the true and tried, and 
that there was not the slightest room for doubting their loyalty to the 
K. G. C. under all circumstances. Many of them were Southern 
born, and could be relied on to the last extremity. All those who 
w T ere natives of the North, had been taken to some Southern town 
and initiated, between New Year's day and the first of March, 
1861. I was told that no less than twenty-five were initiated in 
Baltimore on one evening, every one of whom were of New York. 
The majority of those of the K. G. C. now living in Border States, 
especially those in Southern Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, have been 
sent out from Southern castles within the last few weeks, i. e. 
just before and immediately after Sumter's bombardment. As I 
have before stated, they even tried to institute castles in the im- 
mediate Northern borders after the Sumter affair, but did not 
report favorably. It was apprehended that in large sections of 
Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York, no difficulty would 
be encountered by these Knights' spies, it being presumed that 
however strong the Uniou feeling might grow, there would still 
remain many, not Knights, who w r ould warmly sympathize with 
the South. I saw in Henderson, Kentucky, a New York drummer 
who belonged to the Inner Temple, who said that the Southern 
trade would tie New York city to the South in spite of any efforts 
on the part of the Administration to keep her loyal. This was 
said quite recently. We also frequently see it stated in the papers 
that the Southern people still believe there are many warm friends 
of ''Southern rights" in the North; and however much it may do- 
press the feelings of the Union loving masses, I feel it my duty to 
tell them that there is even yet too much foundation for this belief. 
In Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and other places in Indiana; in 
Cincinnati. Columbus, etc., Ohio; in Philadelphia and other cities 
in Pennsylvania; in New York and other points, New Y'ork State, 
and, in fact, in nearly every Northern city and town of any con- 
sequence, and in many small towns and country neighborhoods, 
there are numbers of secret agents in almost constant correspon- 
dence with various castles and individuals in the South Many 
of these send their letters round by by-ways, to prevent their being 
opened. A few of them are natives, but more of them are " South- 
ern refugees." Beside these, there are several persons who do not 
belong to the K. G. C. among the leading men of the North, who 



64 EXPOSITION OF THE 

think more of the South than they do of the government, and in 
their correspondence they often tell their friends of the Slave 
States, that the time is rapidly coming when there will be a 
"great reaction" in the North. Again, there are still a few of 
our Northern papers that are allowed to talk treason in a sort of 
round-about way. All these things put together, give the friends 
of " Southern rights" some grounds for presuming they have con- 
siderable sympathy in the North. 

The foregoing disclosures and facts indicate that there is much 
to do in this our great effort to retain our liberties, beside equip- 
ping and sending out armies. Those who remain at home have, 
if anything, the most important labor to perform. To them falls 
the work of watching spies from abroad and traitors at home; 
who, however much the more sanguine may be disposed to doubt 
it, are far more numerous than many have the least idea of. It 
has frequently been said of late, that overpowering numbers, 
plenty of bayonets, and the sight of efficient batteries will make 
Union men, as was the case in Baltimore. Men who reason deeply 
and have a thorough knowledge of human nature do not talk thus. 
An overawing military display never did make patriots. It may 
scare them into submission and an outward manifestation of pa- 
triotism; but nothing save principle can make a man truly loyal. 
Let it be kept constantly before the minds of the people, and let it 
never be forgotten throughout this great revolutionary struggle, 
that conquered friends are far more dangerous than unconquered 
foes. Wherever it is presumed that a man, or any number of 
men has any active sympathy with the Southern traitors, such 
man or men should be either shipped to the rattlesnake den, or 
hung. There are two or three places in Southern Indiana and 
Illinois that should be " cleaned out." Carlisle is one of them, 
and a small town in Davies county, near Washington, is another. 
Vigilance committees should be more active and keen eyed; night 
watches should be increased, well armed and kept actively at 
work, not only in large towns but in small ones. The Southern 
traitors calculate very largely on the quantities of provisions they 
will steal by means of the "Knights Gallant," and it is not their 
intention to operate on large cities, but on small towns and in 
country neighborhoods, in almost every one of which they will 
have a greater or lesser number of spies, who will be constantly 
working in concert with "Northern friends," in furtherance of 
their schemes. No neighborhood, however insignificant, should 
be without its regular night patrol after the war fairly commences, 
because it is the intention of the Knights to make this a war of 
extermination, and to carry it on in the most savage and destruc- 
tive manner. As I have before intimated, they do not anticipate 
a victory by fair means, although the paragraphs of some of their 
editors indicate great confidence in the superiority of their troops 
and the invincibleness of their cause. They do not expect to 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 65 

depend upon regular campaigning, but upon any and every de- 
structive and devastative means they can employ. In castle, I 
have often heard Knights declare that when the war commenced 
they would never stop until every "Abolitionist" was killed, and 
all their property turned to the enrichment of the South; that 
any true "Southern rights" man would delight in secretly cut- 
ting their throats, burning their houses, and appropriating their 
property. Such sentiments as those just quoted may seem so 
crazy in spirit that thousands will not believe they could have 
been uttered by any man. Before going South, I would hardly 
have believed such myself. But it should be borne in mind that 
the Southern fire-eaters have been becoming more and more affected 
with the nigger mania for several years, and that their sentiments 
having permeated nearly the whole South, we should not expect 
to find the people sane on the subject of slavery. They are just 
about as crazy for slavery as John Brown, Sen., was against it. 
Hear the following, which is an abstract of a conversation with a 
Knight of Tennessee. 

" Sir, you know we are a peculiar people ; that our surround- 
ings are peculiar; and, in the coming struggle, we shall have more 
than one thing to think of, and more than one thing to do. The 
circumstances which surround us are such as will harass and per- 
plex us beyond description. In case of a civil war, there can be 
no doubt of negro insurrections, which will be terrible and appall- 
ing ; we will be blockaded on every side ; we will be scarce of 
provisions; the European world will be against us ; and all these 
circumstances, taken together, will drive us to the committal of 
deeds we never would have thought of before. More than this, 
many of our people — in fact, nearly all of them — have, for years, 
been nurturing a deadly hatred against the anti-slavery men of 
the North. The number of niggers they have stolen and caused 
us to lose, the tract war against slavery, the newspaper Avar against 
slavery, the pulpit war against slavery, and the political war 
against slavery, have all combined to make our people hate the 
North, and once they get a chance at them, by a declaration of 
war, they will delight in just butchering them, shooting them, and 
burning their very houses over their heads, and destroying them 
in every other way they can." So it will be seen that they hon- 
estly believe they have just causes for the committal of their des- 
perate acts. 

The people of the South are exceedingly hasty and impetuous. 
Their climate, their modes of life, etc., tend to render them so. 
In addition to these considerations, they are very largely mixed 
with the French and Spanish bloods, which circumstance is by 
no means calculated to render them less inflammable. We of the 
North, on the other hand, live in a cooler climate, have vastly 
different social and domestic institutions, are mostly from the 
German and English races, and, consequently, are, in disposition, 
5 



66 exposition OF THE 

a very different people, as a general thing. I know some native 
Southrons are among us, but I have ahvays noticed that a South- 
ern man in the North was by no means a Southern man in the 
South. Of these facts, the Southern people are generally aware. 
They also know that we are a more self-reliant people than they; 
that we are duly conscious of our superior strength and wealth; 
that we are less suspicious of anything evil happening us than 
they are; that we are somewhat slower on the move, and that, 
consequently, considerable advantage will be gained over us by 
sudden, unexpected movements, in remote and unguarded places. 
Their night forays and plundering expeditions — and they antici- 
pate many — are all to be conducted on what they term the " Ma- 
rion" or "Swamp Fox" plan. A party of mounted "Knights 
Gallant" are to collect at some point along Mason and Dixon's 
'line, make a descent upon a corn-growing neighborhood, surprise 
some old farmer, take his wagon and team, load up with corn, and 
strike for the river. Once there, they will convey their plunder 
across, in skiffs and flats, to Southern soil, where a previously 
posted guard, with servants, conveyances, etc., will be prepared to 
receive them. In the mean time, if the farmer wakes, and is about 
to detect them, they will set fire to some of his property, and 
thereby distract his attention; or, if he comes too close upon them, 
will shoot him, and let him go. In other instances, it will be 
arranged with some of the "faithful" to have the farmer and his 
family leave home on some particular and designated occasion, 
when the same operation can be carried on more conveniently. 

Again, it is the intention of the K. G. C. to send large detach- 
ments of the mounted "Knights Gallant," armed with rifles, 
swords, and short arms, to attack and harass such weaker portions 
of the United States army as may be convenient to thein. This 
kind of fighting suits the young bloods of the South far better 
than any other. There is just enough of risk and romance about 
it to inspire them, and there is no doubt that they will vie with 
each other in the performance of extraordinary feats, and the 
achievement of grand little victories. To fully prepare them for 
this species of warfare, they have, for some time, been practicing 
race targeting. This is accomplished by first preparing a circu- 
itous race-course, of small circumference— say a quarter of a 
mile — then arranging targets, to the number of six to twelve; after 
which the "chivalry" mount their fleet horses and ride around 
the ring at a rapid speed, firing with revolvers or Minies at the 
targets in succession. This is very grand sport for the " Knights 
Gallant," while, at the same time, it gives them the very best of 
dragoon drill. 

Now, in order to meet this extensive guerrilla arrangement suc- 
cessfully, 1 would suggest the formation of similar companies, and 
the practice of a similar drill, in the North. We have young men 
just as active and as brave as any in the South, or elsewhere; we 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 67 

have horses, plenty of them, as good as were ever saddled; and we 
have the means and the will to make this kind of service equally 
as effective as the Southern people can. If the Government wiil 
not authorize it, let it be done on individual responsibility. It 
• should be done; it must be done, if we intend to save our homes, 
our lives, and our liberties. 

In looking round over the country, since I returned North, I 
find the means of defense, as a general thing, very inferior 'to 
what they should be. I also notice, as before intimated, that the 
Northern people are nowhere vigilant enough. I would, therefore, 
again enforce the great, the urgent necessity of stricter vigilance, 
and more thorough, systematic means of defense. The citizens 
of the Free States seem disposed to make large deductions from 
the probability of any aggressive measures by the South, on the 
supposition that the prevention of negro insurrections will occupy 
the "chivalry" to such an extent as to render such measures 
inimical to home interests. From this argument, although to one 
not acquainted with the Southern character it would seem very 
forcible, much weight is subtracted by the fact that secessionists 
nowhere bear the reputation of being prudent and considerate, 
i. e., the masses. It is true that such men as Cobb and Floyd 
have displayed a little forethought in the way they prepared for 
the revolution ; but it is a fact well known to zoologists, that 
almost every kind of animal, whether intelligent or automatic, 
knows how to provide for its own wants. It is also a fact, of 
which almost every one is aware, that when a hog is hungry, and 
can not obtain corn honorably, he will enter the crib and take it, 
if the door is left open. Mr. Buchanan left Uncle Sam's crib 
door wide open during the whole of the term he had the keeping 
of it, and, of course, there was every opportunity for the shoats 
in the public barn-yard to help themselves. I see no great display 
of genius or "far-sightedness" in this, because thieving is an in- 
stinct belonging even to the lowest animals The great majority 
of the Southern people, however, are not Cobbs, nor Floyds, nor 
Davises, by a long distance, either in point of talent or coolness. 
They are, as has been stated, a people of moderate intellectual 
caliber, and largely preponderating animal passions, which circum- 
stances, in consideration of the highly exciting influences sur- 
rounding them, utterly forbids the possibility of anything like an 
ordinary display of wisdom. Negro insurrections they have ex- 
pected from the beginning, and so far from its having had the 
effect to cool the secession fever, it has only increased it 

Notwithstanding the fact that they are fully convinced that 
they are, to say the least, the immediate cause of all their own 
trouble, yet, as that trouble becomes more and more aggravated, 
they become more and more intensified in their deadly hatred 
toward the Northern people. It is utterly impossible for me to 
describe the fierce, fiendish revengefulnesa I have seen depicted 



68 



EXPOSITION' OP THE 



in their countenances while conversing with them of national 
affairs. This unnatural feeling toward us was not general, by 
any means, even in the Gulf States, until engendered there by the 
Knights, and, until then, was scarcely visible in the Border States. 
But it is everywhere now, where a castle exists ; and as the civil 
war approaches, by their incessant efforts, night and day, thej 
continue to spread and intensify it. If I am asked the reason for 
the existence of such a state of affairs, I can only give, as my 
reply, what is my honest opinion : the Southern people have gone 
mad on the Slavery Question. The large majority of them seem 
to be perfectly reckless of the present, entirely regardless of the 
future; while there are a few of the leading revolutionary spirits, 
in almost every locality, who seem to think the cause of secession 
so holy, and the people of the South so invincible, that no power 
on earth, nor all the powers of the world combined, could conquer 
them, under any circumstances. 

The foregoing considerations, together with the exciting prompt- 
ings of hunger and want, consequent upon the Government block- 
ade, render it morally certain that the work I have described as 
having been assigned the K. G. will be done, both as- a work of 
revenge and of necessity, even by those who have long lived by 
us as our neighbors and brethren on the borders, and who have 
not undergone that long, thorough course of training in the tac- 
tics of the Knights which their more distant secession relatives of 
the Cotton States have. Let it not, therefore, be presumed by the 
hopeful friends of freedom in the North, that " there is no dan- 
ger;" but, on the other hand, let danger be fully expected, and 
prepared for in the most thorough manner; danger of every de- 
scription, both at home and from abroad. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Yancey and Toombs — the Slave Trade and Filibustering— 
Northern Sympathizers with the latter — the "Abolition" 
Scarecrow — the Lecompton Swindle the work of the K. G. C. 
— Similarity of that Fraud with Secession Operations — 
the Impetus given the Secession Movement by the Republican 
Leaders in 1860 — the Breckinridge Party a Secession Organ- 
ization. 

It will be remembered that Mr. Yancey said, after the with- 
drawal of his state from the Union, that he had been a secession- 
ist for thirty years. It will also be remembered that it was 
charged that Mr. Toombs said, in a speech he delivered in Con- 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 69 

gress a few years ago, that he expected to see the day when he 
could call the roll of his slaves at the foot of Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment. These remarks will not be wondered at when it is revealed 
that the men from whom they emanated are the oldest members 
of the [Southern Rights' Club now living. Yancey paid, out of 
his own pocket, over ten thousand dollars to equip secret slavers, 
between the years 1S34 and 1840. Toombs, who is presumed to 
be the wealthiest man in Georgia, donated, from time to time, for 
the same purpose, over twenty thousand dollars. In many in- 
stances it was not necessary to purchase or build a ship, but 
merely to buy or hire the master. Of the six kidnapping vessels 
sent out between 1834-40, five were Yankee crafts, owned by 
Yankee captains; and the whole three plying during 1856 were 
New York vessels. Thus it will be seen that the Southern people 
have some reason for saying that a Yankee can easily be induced 
to sell anything he has, even to his honor; that among the North- 
erners there is no such thing as principle. 

That greatest of all scarecrows, "Abolitionism" has been the 
pretext, during the past few years, for every species of seces- 
sion scoundrelism. A man who moved to Kansas Territory and 
favored the Free State ticket was an Abolitionist; the man who 
honestly believed that slavery was the creature of local law, 
and that the Constitution of the United States did not carry and 
protect it everywhere, was an Abolitionist ; the man who denied 
the constitutional right of secession, or the right of one state to 
destroy the whole government, was an Abolitionist ; and, finally, 
in latter days, the man who sustains the Constitution and upholds 
the stars and stripes, is an Abolitionist. Just at this latter junc- 
ture, the Northern secessionists, with few exceptions, call a halt, 
having been hitherto apparently blind respecting the direct and 
legitimate tendency of their promotion of "Southern rights," and 
their opposition to " Abolitionism." With the exceptions of those 
contemptible specimens of humanity, Vallandigham, of Ohio, 
and Jesse D. Bright, of Indiana, there are few politicians in the 
Northwest who are not now, in Southern eyes, what they so 
recently abhorred, " Abolitionists." The real Abolition party of 
the North was so insignificant a political element that no sensible 
Southern man had the slightest fears of danger from it. It only 
needed to have been let alone to have died so dead that it would 
never more have been heard of. While conversing with the Hon. 
Archie Dixon, of Kentucky, some months ago, he remarked to me : 
"We could have always managed the Abolitionists had it not been 1 
for the Knights of the Golden Circle in the South, and their ac- 
complices in the North. The great Northwestern States always 
contained a wholesome conservative majority until the Yancey 
school, in the Slave States, and the Buchanan school, in the Free 
States, undertook to construe the Constitution into a pro-slavery 
document." 



70 EXPOSITION OF THE 

Who desires better proof of the determination of the secession- 
ists, North and South, not to allow the " Abolition " fire to go 
down, than the course which was taken by them to force the great 
Lecompton swindle through Congress at its 35th session ? That 
swindle was the legitimate concoction of the K. G. C, and was 
produced and presented in the manner that it was, for the sole 
purpose of strengthening the free-soil element in the North, and 
dividing the Democratic party. Notwithstanding all the "out- 
rages" that were committed in "Bleeding Kansas," the conserva- 
tive people of the Free States had elected "Granny" Buchanan 
on the principle of non-intervention, by a large majority, in I806; 
and .1 was plainly obvious that something a little stronger than 
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the doctrine of Popu- 
lar Sovereignty was required to thoroughly <: abolitionize " the 
North. The so-called Constitution, framed by the K. G. C. Con- 
vention at Lecompton, was considered the very thing that would 
accomplish the work. In electing delegates to that Convention, 
the same "coercive" appliances were used to secure the success 
of the pro-slavery ticket that are now used to elect delegates to a 
secession convention, and the same fraud and trickery were mani- 
fested in its deliberations that have since characterized the secret 
sessions of every secession body that has convened. It is also 
true, and I here record it as a matter of history, that the same 
class of arguments was used, both by the K. G. C. of the South 
and their truckling followers in the North, to prove the legality 
of the Lecompton Constitution as is now used, by the same individu- 
als, to prove the legitimacy of a secession ordinance. 

How any man with one particle of honesty or consistency could 
come before the intelligent masses of the Free States advocating 
the claims of a presidential platform, the very framers of which 
had been, more or less, engaged in the Lecompton secession scheme, 
is an enigma, the unraveling of which 1 confess myself totally 
incapable of performing. 

While the world stands, and the people continue to think, there 
is one thing which will remain a lasting disgrace to the Repub- 
lican party. I allude to the assistance they rendered the Breck- 
inridge secessionists, in the campaign of 1860, in the North. 
Although totally ignorant of the secrets of the K. G. C, by whom 
Mr. B. was nominated, yet they did far more to popularize his 
ticket north of Mason and Dixon's line, than the secessionists 
themselves. All the senatorial speeches made against Douglas 
by such men as Benjamin and Jeff Davis, were eagerly sought for, 
and vigorously circulated, by the leading Republicans throughout 
the country. Further, the same partisans used almost superhuman 
efforts to swell the numbers at all the secession ratification meetings 
that were called, from time to time, in the Northern States, during 
the campaign. While it was utterly impossible for the Republicans 
and Secession Democrats to harmonize on a single principle, they 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CHICLE. 



71 



agreed to unite in their mutual hatred of Douglas. Of course it 
was to the interest of the Republicans that the Democratic party 
should be divided; and, according to the rules of political warfare-, 
there ; <s nothing wrong in one party taking advantage of the. 
disconcerted condition of another, to secure a victory. But I 
apprehend there is an honorable way of profiting by such advantages. 
The Republicans must have seen that the Breckinridge ticket was 
a secession ticket, and that, consequently, the favoring of it, either 
directly or indirectly, was the promotion of rebellion and civil 
war. To have acted honorably in the matter, therefore, would 
have been to discuss and enforce the merits of their own platform and 
candidates, and let both Breckinridge and Douglas tickets entirely 
alone, especially the former. The Republicans certainly were the 
more natural friends and allies of the Douglas men, as it regarded 
the maintenance of the Union and the enforcement of the laws, 
as has been fully proven since the outbreak of the present revo- 
lution. 

I was myself a Republican, and a warm supporter of the 
Republican ' platform, but never could get the consent of my 
consistency to encourage the secession ticket. The real criminality 
of such aii encouragement, however, never fully appeared to me 
until 1 traveled South, and there, both in castle and out doors, 
heard the K. G. C. congratulating themselves over the -'valuable" 
assistance rendered them by the t: Abolitionists" of the North. 

The Republican party has a platform of which it may justly 
be proud, and has done many highly estimable things; but the 
promotion of the secession ticket in the Free States during the 
campaign of 1860 was not one of those things. Should it survive 
the present storm, and again present its claims to the people of 
this government, let it never be guilty of another so gross and 
fatal a crime as this was. 

In due keeping with the manner in which the K. G. 0. tried to 
palm the Lecompton swindle on the honest-thinking masses, in 
1857-58, and in precisely the same spirit in which they have since 
conducted the secret sessions of their secession conventions, and 
forced their secession ordinances upon their fellow citizens, we 
now find them conducting all their present diabolical schemes. 
Having assumed the capacity of " Confederate " rulers, and having 
deprived the people, by armed mob suasion, of all their power, they 
form a bogus government, establish bogus laws, and, by the most 
inhuman, brutal means, force the rightful sovereigns of the land 
to obey them. Wherever they have "the power, they arraign, try, 
and hang, as a traitor, a man, for merely asserting his preference 
of the United States Government; they confiscate and plunder the 
property of those who refuse to take up arms against their country; 
they beat and mercilessly abuse a man for merely saying that the 
fanatics of the North and South are equally to blame for the pre- 
sent unhappy state of affairs ; they, in their fiendish madness, even 



72 EXPOSITION OF THE 

condescend to drive innocent, helpless women from their homes, 
not allowing them, in many instances, to take their own ward- 
robes with them; they steal all the U. 8. property which they can 
appropriate to their own use, and destroy that which is not avail- 
able ; they burn and blow up bridges and public buildings; they 
Issue bogus warrants for the arrest of such sterling patriots as 
Nelson and Johnson; they concoct secret schemes to arm the se- 
cessionists of such states as Kentucky and Maryland, to the end 
of dragging them forcibly out of the Union ; they locate secret 
agents in the Border States to assist in conveying arms, provisions, 
etc., into the seceded states, to destroy lives and property, and 
violate female virtue : they send agents to Europe to misrepresent 
the true state of affairs in this country, and to induce foreign 
powers to assist them in destroying this government. Is there not 
a day of retribution ? 



CHAPTER X. 



What the K. G. C. intend to do with their Government should 
they succeed in their Designs — the Renewal of the Slave 
Trade — the Reasons why nothing is said of Slave Trade now 
— the Establishment of an Aristocracy — the War of 1861 — 
Northern depreciation of Southern Strength. 

Having traced the movements of the S. R. C. from 1834 to 1855, 
tind having considered its metamorphosis, at the latter period, into 
the K. G. C., and its subsequent movements in the political arena 
up to the present day, I will now lay before the reader's mind the 
anticipations of the secessionists in the future. 

In the first place, the Knights have, by no means, forgotten their 
original pet idea of slave stealing. This was the substratum upon 
which their mud-sills were laid" in the beginning, and, although 
obscured by the foam of the secession cauldron for the present, 
will be brought out in full relief, in case the secessionists succeed 
in the establishment of a new government. Every member of the 
Inner Temple of the K. G. C. is an advocate of the slave trade, 
and so soon as opportunity is afforded, will make zealous, per- 
sistent efforts for its re-establishment. The castle was divided into 
an Outer and Inner Temple, in the first place, in order that there 
might be, in the former, a place of rendezvous for secessionists, 
whether for or against the foreign black traffic, and in the latter 
a place of refuge for the known and proved friends of the slave 
piracy. Whenever you come in contact with an Inner Templar, 
and broach the subject of the foreign traffic, he talks to you in the 
following style : 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CHICLE. 



73 



"We who have made the subject of slavery a study, know that 
it is an institution which must be either on the increase or de- 
crease that it must either continue to prow in extent and power, 
or ultimately become extinct. We already have more territory 
than we have boys to cultivate it in the proper manner. Ihere 
are thousands of acres of the very best of cotton land in many 
of the Gulf States untouched. The Border Slave State supply ot 
negroes has never been anything like equal to the Cotton btate 
demand. But further, we intend to have Cuba, Mexico and cer- , 
tain portions of Central America; and, consequently, there will 
be a great increase in the demand for slaves. How are we to get 
them otherwise than by a resort to Africa? By going there, we 
can get them much cheaper, and in greater quantities, than we 
can in any part of the United States. Besides this, we can pro- 
cure better slaves in Africa than we can in America, lhe nig- 
gers' we get in the Border Slave States are generally very inferior 
as servants, and especially so as field-hands. Many of them are, 
in consequence of their large admixture of Anglo-Saxon b ood 
lazy, stubborn, and insubordinate. They are, also, shorter lived 
than the genuine African, and can not endure the labor m the 
cotton fields as he docs. So far as the moral part of the negro 
traffic is concerned, there certainly is less sin in buying and sell- 
ing the genuine Guinea kinky-head than there is in trading in 
those of their American descendants, whose veins contain much 
of our own blood, if there be any sin in it at all." 

These are the arguments that the Inner Templars present in 
favor of its re-establishment; and if the institution of slavery be 
ri<rht or if it be over, tolerable in a republic, they are unanswer- 
able ' I have cited them to show the tendency ot the anticipated 
Southern Government, and to prove that, should they once cut 
loose from the United States, the iire-eaters will never rest easy 
until they have renewed the slave piracy. 

Perhaps it will here be asked, why the Montgomery Congress 
voted so largelv against the introduction of this doctrine into the 
Confederate Constitution, if they really indorsed it? lhe tol- 
lowing are the reasons: First. They knew the Border Slave 
States," whose main dependence was the Southern negro-market, 
never could be induced to ratify a constitution which allowed ot 
the African slave trade. Second. They were convinced that it 
would be folly to hope to secure the sympathy of any European 
power under such circumstances. In their then weak condition 
thev knew that to renew the foreign traffic would be to shut out 
all hope of the successful attainment of their designs But no 
sooner will their government be established, than all their ener- 
gies will be turned to that end. 

In the second place, the leaders of this rebellion have nevei 
anticipated, what many persons have supposed they did, the estab- 
lishment of a government composed exclusively of the boutnern 
States They know full well that such a government could not 



74 EXPOSITION OF THE 

long exist. It has been their intention, from the beginning, to 
secure the annexation of all the great Middle and Northwestern 
States, or, at least, a great portion of them. Without the co-oper- 
ation of those Northern States which lie along the lower Ohio 
and Mississippi, their produce trade would be seriously impaired, 
and likely to be suspended at any time. Of the Southern and 
Northwestern States they intended to form what they term a 
limited aristocracy — a government which has been, for years, 
considered by the nabobs of the South as far better and more per- 
manent than a republic. Many of the leading citizens of the 
South have told me that they had regarded the present form of 
the American Government as a failure, for a long time ; that it 
had, almost from the very beginning, manifested a great lack of 
power and efficiency. This idea may truly seem strange, when it 
is remembered that Thomas Jefferson, a Southern man, was the 
father of Democrac} r ; that he, with almost all the Southern states- 
men of his time, waged an uncompromising war against the more 
centralizing doctrines of Federalism; and that, from his day to 
1856, the stronghold of Democracy has been the South. The aris- 
tocracy alluded to is to be governed by a dictator, who may hold 
his office for life, unless deposed by the Congress. None but the 
wealthy are to be allowed a vote, and no one who is not known 
to have large interests in slave property is to be allowed to hold 
any office; and none but the most genuine of the chivalry are to 
be allowed a seat in the Confederate Parliament. These latter, 
when proved and chosen, are, like the dictator, to be allowed to 
continue in office for life, and when they die, their successors 
are to be chosen from among their descendants. In short, the 
intention of the secessionists is to have a more powerful mon- 
archy than that of England. The steps toward its consummation 
are, however, to be gradual. By thus wresting the power of the 
government from the people, and placing it in the hands of the 
aristocracy, they could re-open the slave-trade, and carry on ag- 
gressive and acquisitive Avars to any desirable extent. 

What change may have been effected in the designs of the 
K. G. C. since the unanimous uprising of all the Free States, and 
the apparent division in many of the Border Slave States, I know 
not, but certain I am that they still contemplate the establishment 
of a government vastly more centralized than the one wo now live 
under. Without the constant aid of a standing army and an 
efficient navy, no power composed of Slave States can, for a day, 
maintain itself. 

Thus it will be seen that the present revolution is not only 
intended to sunder the bonds that bind the Union together, but 
to prove the experiment of self-government a failure, and to crush 
at once, and forever, the last remaining hope of freedom to the 
world. The military discipline so strictly enforced in the "Arti- 
cles of War" promulgated by the ''American Legion" of the 
K. G. C, has strict reference to the continual use which is to be 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 75 

made of it hereafter. No candidate is admitted into the Order 
without he declares, most emphatically, that he will "strictly ob- 
serve" these "Articles of War, as promulgated by the Legion.'' 

The question now to be asked by every true American citizen 
is — Shall T, while life remains, submit to the establishment of a 
power which has for its sole object the destruction of that liberty 
which cost the Revolutionary fathers their fortunes and their lives ? 

The American Government is now threatened by an enemy far 
more dangerous than any it has hitherto contended with. All the 
foreign powers of the Avorld combined would not be so much to 
be dreaded as the internal foe we now have to contend with. 
There is, therefore, no time to be spent in foolish, timid regrets ; 
no hours to be wasted in deploring the " condition of the country," 
but every moment and every power is to be unreservedly iriven to 
the most vigorous action. The man who does not prefer death to 
the loss of his liberty and the destruction of the institutions of 
such a country as ours, is unworthy the name and privileges of an 
American citizen, and unfit for any other society than that of 
South Carolina. I have no patience with those persons who are 
always regretting this war, and longing for peace. The war is one 
of the greatest of necessities, and no permanent peace can be 
rationally hoped for but through the successful use of the rifles 
and bayonets of the United States troops. The man who cannot 
see this is either a fool or a cowardly traitor. The idea advanced 
by a few that it would be better to " let the South alone'' than to 
shed the blood of our brethren, or sacrifice our own lives and 
fortunes, if it be honestly declared, can come from none other 
than the most ignorant and short-sighted of men. Let us suppose, 
for a moment, that the South were "let alone;" all the lower Mis- 
sissippi commerce i3 under its supreme control; the Southern 
aristocracy can exact just such duties of us as they please, and 
we must submit, or else be involved in a fight ; the K. G. 0. can 
carry forward their acquisitive wars southwardly, and re-open the 
slave trade, and we dare not open our mouths; and, worst of all, 
we will ever be regarded by them as the most contemptible cow- 
ards in the world. This is already the case, to a very considerable 
extent; and no hope need be indulged of securing even ordinary 
respect among them but by administering to them such a chastise- 
ment as shall make them remember us. 

The present revolution cannot be more productive of suffering 
and privations than the first, one was. Our lathers began the war 
for their liberties with an empty treasury, few men, few arms, and 
scarceby any navy at all. We, on the other hand, have a full 
treasury, a large surplus of men, more provisions than we can 
consume, plenty of arms, and can soon have an efficient navy. 
Who, then, shall stand back and cry " peace," or counsel inactivity 
and delay in this, our day of peril? 

As to the shedding of "brother's blood," I have this to say; he 



76 EXPOSITION OF THB 

who lifts his traitorous arm to strike at the American government, 
he he brother or stranger, is justly deserving of death, and no 
tears should be shed over his grave. If every man, women, and 
child in the South has to die, it were far better than to allow the 
union of these states to be destroyed. The dissolution of the 
American Union is the destruction of the whole North American 
continent. The idea of the existence of two governments in this 
country, so opposite to each other as those which would result 
from a division of the Northern from the Southern sections, is the 
most nonsensical of all absurdities, and can only be conceived in 
the brain of a political idiot. The man who has heretofore enjoyed 
the benefits of the best government on earth, and who now seeks 
to destroy it by making war upon it, is worse than any foreign 
enemy. 

The political aristocrats of the South, although now pretending 
to the world that they only wish to be "let alone," are really aim- 
ing at the subjugation of the North. Nearly ever since the birth 
of the republic, they have had almost complete control of it, and 
are now stung to the quick by the consciousness that the Northern 
States have at last shown a disposition to take a hand in its 
management. The politicians of the South have always believed 
that the people of the Free States were " too ignorant, cowardly, 
and selfish" to have a controlling voice in the halls of legislation. 
They have so long fostered this idea that they have, finally, come 
to the conclusion that all that is grovelling and degrading in 
human nature belongs to the North. Whereas, on the other hand, 
all that is ennobling and great is indigenous to the South. They 
"have all the talent, bravery, and generosity;" we have all the 
ignorance, cowardice, and selfishness. To use a Hoosier phrase, 
a sound thrashing is really the only thing that can ever induce 
the fire-eaters to correct these views, and the sooner it is adminis- 
tered the better. 

The Southern people never had a proper appreciation of our 
superior industrial and educational institutions. Their descend- 
ancy from "noble" stock, their inheritance of "sacred" relics, 
and their absolvence from all kinds of labor have, in their estima- 
tion, elevated them far above the " menials " of the North, and 
given them a rightful claim to the management of this govern- 
ment. Northern courage and Northern bayonets will remove 
these false notions — nothing else will. 

For years the people of the Free States have, for the sake of 
preserving peace with their brethren of the South, humbled them- 
selves in the very dust before the altar of slavery, and displayed a 
subserviency which is even sickening to contemplate. No wonder 
they concluded that one Southern man could whip from five to a 
dozen Northerners, when, with a population hardly one-fifth as great 
as ours, they have had almost the entire control of the government 
from its infancy up. Let us redeem our character, and establish 
our just claims, at every hazard. 



KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 77 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Military Character of the K. G. C. — "George Washington 
Lafayette Bickley" — What the South can do; what we must 

DO, ETC. 

As I have before intimated, the Knights of the Golden Circle 
are "some military." Ever since 1855, when that lofty specimen 
of Boone county "chivalry," "George Washington Lafayette 
Bickley," applied all the powers of his master genius to the im- 
provement and superior organization of the Order, the Knights 
have practiced regular military drill. For his untiring efforts in 
this regard, the said George Washington Lafayette Bickley has 
been created president and commander-in-chief of the " American 
Legion." The object of the military exercises, or, as they are 
commonly called, "Articles of War," was to prepare for the "im- 
pending crisis." Every castle is, in truth, a regular military 
company, the State Legions are brigades, and the American Legion 
is an army. Now, when we come to consider that thousands of 
castles have been drilling two and three times per week, for several 
years, we must at once acknowledge that their influence in the 
present revolution will be considerable. 

However much persons may be disposed to ridicule the idea of 
any just apprehension of danger from the military operations of 
the K. G. C., 1 can assure them that they will prove a more for- 
midable foe than any outsider has yet presumed. Their long 
course of training and preparation, their well-matured, deep-laid 
plans, and their unscrupulous dishonesty, render them capable of 
effecting far more than any one not acquainted with their organ- 
ization would expect of them. 

The Knights of the Golden Circle are the secessionists proper, 
and their history is the history of secession. From a small and 
insignificant band of kidnappers and fillibusters, they have grad- 
ually increased their numbers until they are to be counted by 
thousands in the Southern States of the Union, and by dozens in 
the Border Free States. Many of these latter are at this time in 
Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Albany, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, 
New Albany, Evansville, Cairo, and other border cities. As I 
have before, said, they are the most dangerous of enemies. Some 
of them being native born, are not suspicioned. The sign of 
recognition and the response are never given in a Free State, 
unless the parties giving them know each other well, and are so 
situated that their communications will not be detected. They 
may be justly suspicioned, however, from the following expres- 



78 EXPOSITION OF THE 

sions, all of which are knightish : "The South only wants her 
rights;" "Better let them go, than involve ourselves in a war 
which will cost us more than the South is worth;" "O, dear me! 
the expenses of this war!" "What will the people say when it 
comes to paying the heavy taxes?" "The South can never be sub- 
jugated V " I never will enlist to fight my^rethren of the South ; " 
(brethren means brethren in the real knightish sense;) "The 
country 's in an awful condition — we '11 never be as we were, 
again." Sometimes an editor of the Knights' school ventures to 
condemn the "mobocracy of the North" without saying anything 
of the mobbing proclivities of the South. At other times, as in 
the case of the editor of the I. S. G., he gives Webster's definition 
of the term subjugate, and then, as his only comment, asks the 
question, "Can eleven States, with a population of three millions 
of people, ever be subjugated?" Let every one who talks thus be 
closely watched. 

In conversing with many hopeful friends of the Union, since 
my return from the South, I find the confidence in the superior 
numbers of the loyal troops, and the greater wealth of the North, 
entirely too great. T also notice that the numbers, power, and 
resources of the South are too much underrated. The impression, 
in fact, seems to be entirely too general,Vhat the secessionists, in 
consequence of their limited means, scarcity of provisions, inferior 
numbers, and unholy cause, can endure but a short time. J am 
truly sorry that this idea has obtained to the extent that it has, 
calculated as it is, in its very nature, to prove more or less disas- 
trous to the cause of the Union. 

In the first place, as has been shown, the Confederate States 
have nearly all the arms contained in the Government arsenals in 
the early part of 1860, to which, by an arrangement made in the 
early part of the spring of 1861, have been added a heavy cargo 
of the latest and most improved European arms — about twenty 
thousand ; and having seized nearly all the Southern forts, they 
have secured the greater number of our best, heaviest ordnance, 
and, therefore, are even better supplied in these regards than we 
are. in the second place, they have more provisions than has 
generally been supposed. During the whole of the winter and 
spring of 18(51, steamboats and flats have been employed by the 
score in conveying the heaviest loads of provisions from the great 
Northwestern States; and from what I have seen and heard in 
New Orleans, and other river towns, 1 have not the least doubt 
that many of the principal cities of the South have provisions 
enough stored away to supply their citizens several years. In 
addition to this, every effort will now be made to increase the corn 
and wheat crops in all the Southern States. For a time, at least, 
they will forget King Cotton, and pay more attention to Emperor 
Corn. Further, the Confederates will, without doubt, make the 
strongest efforts to put those stealing schemes, described in pre- 
vious pages, into vigorous execution, many of which will, in all 



7Q 

KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. ■» 

«Whilifcv succeed on their immediate borders. In the third 
probability, succeea, , an without anv doubt, muster 

2S, whS i avo ilmo't from childhood, beeAioaBtomed to mur 
e" U'SlrSSA the b.ackest *■ p; th^thejr 

^ti^ of by men othorwise than as aro 

and ambition anywhere, and I to toe a ^toc 

f,° Ut "f MfffSSS ^ desperate sSch a B t,ngg£ as 

enlisted: the preservation of this great government and tUe perpe 



The wor 



t Sn^and paying ^£Z ^1 S* 
afiaK ^dTSrW the heart, of the peop.e 



80 EXPOSITION OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 

of every surrounding nation, and caused them to revolutionize 
their despotisms, destroy their feudalisms, modify their monarchies, 
and improve their aristocracies. The great hall of freedom which 
our fathers set rolling, has even reached the very heart of old 
hierarchal Home, and, by the master-strokes of the immortal 
Garibaldi, the Papal throne has been shaken to its very center, 
and tyrants have been made to quake at the rapid strides of the 
Genius of Liberty. Our own glorious America has advanced in 
civilization, in science, arts, improvements, and wealth, to an ex- 
tent unequaled anywhere or at any time in the world's history; 
the American flag has become an emblem of glory and protection 
wherever it waves, whether on land or sea. and the American 
citizen is honored and respected by all nations of people. 

The memories of the Revolutionary fathers, their unprecedented 
trials and unequaled victories, have not yet become extinct, nor 
their invigorating influence lost. Our gray-haired sires and aged 
mothers, as they totter on the verge of the grave, with their souls 
weighed with despair, and their hearts pierced with regret, turn 
with feeble though earnest voice, and entreat us to maintain invio- 
late the rich inheritance bequeathed us by the Grandsires of 
Seventy-six ; our wives, our sisters, our children, with their souls 
fraught with the remembrance of past blessings, demand of us a 
continuance of them in future. And, last and greatest of all, 
God, who cleft the waters of the Red Sea, and rolled them to the 
right hand and to the left, causing his liberated children to walk 
safely and surely from under the galling yoke of Egypt's tyrant 
to the wilderness of freedom; God, who fought the battles of Israel, 
and secured to it the land of promise; God, who liberated the 
world from sin by the gift of his only-begotten Son; God, who 
nerved the arm of the immortal Luther to the breaking of the 
Papal chains of Europe and the defense of religious freedom; 
God, who directed the Puritan fathers from under the oppressive 
hand of Britain to the wilderness of North America; (tod, who 
heard the prayers of Washington, fought the battles of American 
independence, secured to us civil and religious liberty, anfl gave 
to us this great land, with its innumerable, invaluable blessings; 
God, who has always been the friend of freedom, and the foe of 
oppression, commands us to move forward in defense of the 
right, the maintenance of our government, and the vindication 
of its flag. These are our incentives, and while they are not cal- 
culated to render us so desperate, brutal, and blood-thirsty as 
those which incite the followers of Lucifer, yet they are fraught 
with that patriotic glory, virtuous enthusiasm, and holy luster 
which render the soldier under their influence invincible. Then, 
let every one of the thousands who are marching under the Banner 
of the Free be fully imbued with the great fact that he is fighting 
in the cause of humanity and the cause of God. 



THE END. 



%,, 



Treasonable Organizations in In- 
diana— Futther Discoveries — Oath 

of Stcond Degree. 

We have received from first class au- 
'■ hcrity a copy of the oath of the 2d de- 
gree of the K. Of. CL'a which reads as 
follows: 

Do you believe this to be the Werd of 
God? (Hand" on the Bible.) 

Do you believe that the present war now 
h*»irip waged against us to be unconstitu- 
tional? 

Then receive the obligation* 

I. , do solemnly swear, in the 

presence of Almighty God, that I will 
support the Constitution of the United 
States, and the State in which I reside 
and ktep it holy and unraveled. 

I further promise and swear that I wil 
go to the aid of all good and loyal Demo 
crats, and oppose the confiscation of thei 
property, either North or South, and I fur- 
ther promise and swear that I will suffer 
my body severed in four parts — one part 
east out of the east gate, one part at 
the west gate, one part at the north gate 
and one part at the south gate — before I 
will suffer the privilege bequeathed by our 
forefathers blotted out or trampled under 
foot forever. 

I further promise and swear that I will 
go to the aid, from the 1st to the 4th signal, 
of all loyal Democrat", North or South. 

I further promise and swear that 1 will 
not reveal any of the secret signs, pass- 
words or grips to any one not legally au- 
thorized by this order, binding myself 
under no lees penalty than having my 
bowels torn out and cast to the four winds 
of heaven, bo help me Gc&„ 

I promise and swear that I will do 
all in my power to bring all loyal Demo- 
crats in this Circle of Hosts. 

I further promise- and swear that I will 
do all in my power against the present 
Yankee Abolition^ Disunion I Administration, 
eo help me God. 

The- Order voted to. have a State Con- 
vention of Lodges, and^wished to have it 
April 23d, the day proposed for the Demo- 
cratic State Convention. The prudent men 
of the party learned this and postponed 
the Convention until tbelatter part of May. 

The signs of the Order include "battle 
signals." to protect the members in battle, 
or befriend them if captured. 



Note. — Since this work was in press (the contemplated publi 
tion coming to the knowledge of certain Knights) the author 
received many letters to the effect that its publication would be 
lowed by the execution of sundry threats made upon his life, 
feeling that the contract with his publisher was more binding u; 
him than the sworn oaths of the K. G. C, he has authorized 
completion of the work at any an all hazards. 



